Update: Light Snowfall Still On Track

The 15z RUC shows most precip getting ringed out in the Allegheny Front - a sliver of precip finds it way into northern Lodoun and a little west and north into Washington counties. Some verga showing up in the metro area right now. All depends of course on where the low tracks, a little more south than indicated now and the "sliver" could end up inside the Beltway. But what about temps?

Looks like northern and western burbs will do best..but most of us will see a 3-5 hr burst of snow this afternoon...sticking will be an issue some places, but at least we will see flakes.....the late week storm is more promising for snow lovers

I'll put 20 on a disappointing flurry shower, 40 on my neighborhood Super Target being sold out of water over this, and all on Roche giving me a 5 minute long traffic report since all of DC's roads will shut down over a couple of flakes of snow.

A few flakes fluttering down in Gaithersburg

flakes in Tysons too

Very light snow/flurries in Ellicott City.

flakes in downtown

Temps have dropped from 34F to 31F here in the last 45 minutes. Something is happening up there but nothing to show for it so far.

I see snow here in Arlington. Just a few large flakes :)

Flurries at Union Station.

Flurries in Scott Circle :)

A few flurries on the Herndon/Reston line :) ...hopefully more to come :)

flakes at farragut west

Flurries here

Light snow in Annapolis!

A few commenters have asked previously how to find the site. There are a few different routes, but the easiest to remember is www.capitalweathergang.com

Light snow here in Arnold, temp has fallen to 29F.

30 second burst here at Gallows Rd and 29 in VA. now just a flake or two every now and then

Been snowing lightly for about an hour, nothing sticking to the ground yet.

Time will tell whether the gap in precip over Northwest Virginia is real or just a mountain-based radar glitch. Light snow in Mclean.

One creature is certainly happy about Friday's potential winter weather - my cat. I postponed his scheduled vet appointment until next week, just in case things are nasty.

Nice little flurry burst on Capitol Hill.

Just got this email: Montgomery County Schools: Evening Activities Cancelled. There is nothing happening in Potomac - a few breezy flakes...

augusta jim or some other weather guy:

i was thinking about how i've seen a few flakes today - probably on the order of 1,000,000 even though it's just flurries, and i got to wondering.....i know it depends on temp/pressure and probably a bunch of other stuff, but how many snowflakes would you say are in an "average" 1 cu.in. of snow?

Snow falling in Rockville in the parking lot

Snow falling in Springfield on my telescope

:-(

Overall radar trend looks rather anemic to me. Can even a clipper disappoint?

Walter of F.C. - Lord knows how many snowflakes are in a cu. in of snow. Just think of this though, the "millons" of snoflakes you have seen are acutally "billons" of snowflakes because typically a "snowflake" is an aggregrate of numerous of snowflakes all sticking together. Rarely do you see a single dendrite or column on its own unless it is extremly cold.

mcleaNed: that radar glitch is actually a rain shadow that is being cast by the crest of the Allegheny Front to the west. The winds on the east side are downslopping and that is why the Shennandoah valley is dry right now, and is in fact the driest part of the state because of it.

nader,
yes i've noticed how "flakes" are actually clumps of flakes. sometimes, against a black jacket or something, i think i can see actual single flakes (dendrite?) break off a clump of flakes.

anybody else? how many flakes in a cu.in.?

Snowing moderately in Baltimore, vis. below 1/2 mile downtown (cannot see halfway to Hopkins Hospital from 6th floor of SHA @ JFX & Monument St.)

RE: Earlier question on sun angle
Today: 39° (same as late Oct.)
Dec. 5: 28°
An overrated factor in precip type, IMO, however.

YAWN ! This snow is boring...I mean these tiny few flakes falling are boring.

Steve,

I can understand your opinion that the sun angle is overrated when it comes to precip type, but isn't there some "value" in the sun angle when it comes to snow/ice sticking to surfaces, particularly the roads? I have no scientific reason behind that, but it seems like a logical conclusion.

Any predictions on if the sky will be clear enough for eclipse watching tonight? I've had this day circled on my calendar for months.

The boundary layer, despite the snow aloft, is just too dry. Nothing but off and on very light flurries here in Vienna (2 PM). The models, in this type of situation, like with persistant cold-air damming, aren't very accurate They do a pretty good job of showing the moisture coming in aloft. but fail to take into account that with low dew ponts at the surface, most of it will remain virga for awhile until the lower layers moisten up. Forecaster often fail to recogniize this.....just as they often underestimate the effects of cold air damming that models can't pick up east of the ridges.

Starting to get a dusting on grassy area's here..

For the sun angle range we're talking about, time of day and duration and thickness of cloud cover would be more important factors in heating the ground. For example, the difference between noon values today and Dec. 5 is about the same as between 9:30 this morning and noon.

Sun angle by time of day is here.

This is positively underwhelming.

This snow 1" they were calling for around the DC area. Not going to happen (MARK MY WORDS). We call it the Moses effect... the storm just splits and goes North and South of this area. It just does not want to happen above us. Just a few little flakes and that will be it. Oh yeah, wait until Friday. Another let down... more rain if anything! I do want snow but just keeping it REAL!

OMG WE'RE UP TO OUR WAIST IN SNOW IN LAKE RIDGE!

LOL - Just kidding, if there was a funny/sarcastic font the above sentence would definitely be in that.

Not a flake to be seen. My bus driver said it snowed like 5 flakes around 1230 and that was it, so humph.

But, I didn't get my hopes up to high from this clipper. We have been warned time and time again that the mountains steal all their moisture. Blasted mountains!!!!!!!!

At least there is tomorrow night/Friday, right? :)

battman: LOL at the Moses effect. I call it the PWC bubble, because everything always seems to wrap around Prince William County

Agreeing with the other commenters - unless I am missing something, radar indicates this might be it, right?

I think Old Man Winter hates us.

Quick Question... Is the late week storm a coastal storm, or is it tracking west of DC?

All grassy areas are not whitened here, and we continue to see light/moderate snow. Temperature has been dropping since noon, now sitting at 26F. Areas just north of I-70 in Carrol and Baltimore counties seem to be getting the best of the snow so far.

its not sticking in bethesda

Unidentified Questioner: I am under the impression that it'll be a coastal storm, but don't quote me on it.

any predictions for school friday coming soon? ive heard some optimistic predictions (for students, anyway). how much snow is predicted for thursday night only?

h.j.

1-3 inches

Finally have a more consistent snow in Rosslyn.

Nothing happening in NW Spotsy. Late week storm looking more interseting but still not expecting a major snow, looks like some snow with a fair amount of sleet & ice. A slight change in the storm track could change everything. Will b interesting 2 see how it works out.

Heyyy, finally something is happening. Really tiny flakes. It's a steady light snow. The temp has dropped 4 degrees since it started a few minutes ago, down to 32 from 36. Wow.

WeatherdudeVA.. looks like a decent batch is heading towards Lake Ridge from the southeast..

Moderate burst of snow here... really tiny flakes

I'm in Sykesville (Carroll Co.) and it's been coming down steady since noon. The asphalt is still clear but the grass, etc. is looking pretty. I've got 1.5" on my deck railings. Maybe we're in the "sweet spot", clipper-wise. We were the last time (Dec-07)...enough to plow but no need for the snow thrower. Frankly, I hope to clear the season without using the snow thrower.

It's going to be a nice drive to work tomorrow with the moon high and the snow reflecting the moonlight.

The clipper was centered over south central Va. at 3 pm, with greatest pressure falls over ne N. Carolina.

As is often the case with clippers, most of the moisture was lost crossing the mts. These are already moisture starved systems,therefore when moving into already dry air, they don't have much to work with.

Hopefully snowlovers will have more to cheer about on Friday morning, but don't bet the bank on it. The potential for Thursday night and Friday is having a tough time getting it's act together within the "model' world. The 18z NAM is coming in a little more aggresive tomorrow night with timing and qpf but nothing really impressive.

3:30- 34 degrees with light snow, no.acc.

FYI - New post/update is up on main page! :-)

The "Moses effect" looks kind of like a scraper on an icy windshield ...

Alexandria
Steady snowfall and about 1/4-1/2 inch of accumulation in places
It looks like it might be sticking on the roads soon

Snowing here in Burke, VA. Accumulating!

Some of the saddest snowflakes I have seen in my life fell near Old Town Fairfax today on/off from noon to 3:00 - NO accumulation to speak of anywhere. :'o( I'm very curious to see what will happen later this week!