Get ready for possible winter storm Tuesday

After a spectacularly mild Saturday with high temperatures in the upper-50s, change is coming as soon as tonight. A cold front is bringing mostly cloudy skies overnight with a chance of showers. Sunday will be sunny and cooler, but still pleasant with a high near 50.

Monday is shaping up to be nice as well with lots of sunshine and highs in the upper-40s. Monday night is when it all changes. A coastal storm is expected to develop off the mid-Atlantic coast and then turn towards the northeast.

The track and intensity from this point is still uncertain and these key elements will determine the type and location of the precipitation. A northerly track will bring more rain than snow, A far southerly track will bring just light snow to coastal areas. A closer southerly track will bring snow to all parts of the region, right down to the coast.

These uncertainties leave us with the situation where we can prepare for the worst case scenario and know the real result will be somewhere among the options. A Winter Storm Watch has been hoisted by the good peeps at the National Weather Service in advance of this storm for all counties away from the coast. Here we have the potential of 6-12″ of snow.

The impacts of this would be difficult even hazardous road conditions throughout Tuesday, power outages with heavy wet snow and winds gusting to 35+ mph. Along the coast worst case scenario snow would be a trace to 3 inches of snow, but minor to moderate coastal flooding is possible during the time of high tide Tuesday afternoon.

This forecast will be refined as models achieve a better consensus, increasing forecast confidence. To reiterate, this is the worst case scenario in order for proper planning. The storm will wrap up Tuesday night before 10pm, followed by an arctic blast of blustery cold air.

Temperatures plummet into the teens by Wednesday morning and even with a sun-filled day, highs will struggle to get out of the lower-30s. Thursday and Friday will continue the sunny and cold trend to finish the workweek.