Posted at 9:00 PM ET, 12/16/2008

Morning Commute Should Mainly Be Wet, Not Icy

By Jason Samenow

Expect most schools to open on time

Winter Weather Advisory N&W of D.C. through 11 a.m. Wed. morning (includes Montgomery, Loudoun & Frederick counties)

* What about the rest of the week? Forecast *

Light rain, mixed with sleet in a few spots, continues this evening. Inside the beltway and to the south and east, temperatures are mainly in the mid-30s, although pockets of near-freezing temperatures exist. To the north and west (in Loudoun and northern Montgomery county), temperatures are generally around freezing, with some scattered reports of a little iciness -- primarily on car tops, tree limbs and untreated road surfaces.

Radar: Latest regional radar loop shows movement of precipitation over past two hours. Powered by HAMweather. Refresh page to update.

Temperatures: Hover over and click icons for more info. Click and hold on map to pan. Powered by Weather Bonk. Map by Google. Refresh page to update.

View/Submit Photos | Ultimate Overview of Current Conditions: Weather Wall

For the next 3-6 hours, what you see now is what you'll get with temperatures by-and-large holding steady. Precipitation will probably decrease in coverage and intensity in the early morning hours. Isolated iciness can't be ruled out in the far north and west suburbs for the morning commute, but widespread problems aren't expected with temperatures rising above freezing even in the cold spots by early to mid morning.

SchoolCast:

For Loudoun and Frederick Counties and north and west:

Everywhere else:

By Jason Samenow | December 16, 2008; 9:00 PM ET
Categories: Updates
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Comments

Why does the radar say it's snowing when it's clearly not?

Posted by: PeterBethesda | December 16, 2008 9:22 PM | Report abuse

PeterBethesda: We've emailed our radar provider that same question. There's a problem--but we'll get it fixed.

Posted by: Jason-CapitalWeatherGang | December 16, 2008 9:41 PM | Report abuse

Still 33.6 and rain here in Sterling, not sure what the story is for the western parts of Loudoun, though. Hopefully we'll get a delay tomorrow, so I can catch up in the AP's.

Posted by: Sterlingva | December 16, 2008 9:51 PM | Report abuse

Jason,

I know you said there may be a hint of ice north and west of DC, but what about directly north where I am, the Columbia/Ellicott City area? It looks like I'm right on the 32/33-degree line. Wouldn't mind working from home tomorrow b/c of the roads :) Thanks as always for capitalweather.com on washingtonpost.com

Posted by: BandTCrowd | December 16, 2008 10:11 PM | Report abuse

I live in that area and noticed some sleet/ice collecting on cars and lightpoles earlier. I just looked out the window and it looks like the continual rain has melted all that. But, the NWS just added Howard and Baltimore counties to the winter weather advisory. I doubt we'll be seeing any significant freezing rain/sleet, but given the amount of moisture and standing water on the road surfaces, if the temperatures fall below freezing for any length of time during the overnight, I'd watch your step in the AM.

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Morning Commute Should Mainly Be Wet, Not Icy

Expect most schools to open on time