Weekend Storm: 3 Days Out

Wow, we really went from nothing to talk about to all kinds of stuff to talk about in the blink of an eye. Winter started out just about as boring as I can remember any winter being. Now here we are talking about back to back weekends of big storms.

Oh yeah, and it's going to snow tomorrow too.

Remember when I said there's a Thursday system that'll start to dictate a potential path for the weekend storm? Well it trended colder, meaning instead of scattered showers tomorrow, we're looking at snow showers. Don't worry, this isn't a storm you'll need to get your rulers out for, I think we're looking at an inch or less for most of Central Ohio. On the absolute high end, maybe two inches. Surprisingly the highest amounts could happen right along the I-70 corridor. Two storms in a row with that being the jackpot? Unheard of.

By mid morning the system will move in from the west and snow will begin:

We will probably see a changeover to rain for areas south of Chillicothe, but that means Central Ohio will stay snow for the most part. Temps will eventually get above freezing by late afternoon, but cold air aloft will still allow snow to fall.

This shouldn't be a high impact event, with snow starting after morning rush hour, and most roads being highly salted from the past week's worth of winter weather.

Ok, but now what about this weekend? 

That's what everyone's asking. I've been stopped in the halls at work, gotten texts and calls from family and friends, all anyone's talking about is will it rain or will it snow?

Well I don't want to spend this post talking about whether your house will get all snow. This is going to focus in on what precip modes we'll see during this event.

Within a 50 mile range we could go from heavy snow to heavy rain. This is a loaded system with no lack of moisture. The map below does not represent a forecast. This is just to illustrate how narrow of a band of freezing rain we could see so you can understand how hard of a forecast this will be to pin down:

As always it's the I-71 barricade for some. The important thing to point out is you could drive from Marysville to Lancaster and practically see two different seasons. Three different if you consider ice to be a season of its own.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MODELS

I guess I'd be negligent to leave out where those precious models are leaning. We're still 72 hours out, but the track is pretty locked in, even this far in advance:

It seems destined to go from east Texas to Nashville to Washington DC. However, each model has slight differences in speed and exact track. When we're talking about a possible 50 mile wide ice storm, a slight jog north or south could mean the difference in a big snow or a big bust. This storm will have to be real-time tracked to accurately pinpoint who will get hit.

What I can say right now is everyone should be on high alert and checking back frequently. Prepare like it'll be a big one and you'll be stuck in your house for a couple days, even if you just end up with rain. Behind this storm will be dangerous cold. So if we do get an ice storm, this could be one of the most impactful storms in quite a while.

Don't believe any snow maps you see out there yet. Anyone putting a number and a location on this thing yet is just throwing stuff to the wall to see if it'll stick. I don't plan on making a final call until at least Friday afternoon, and most responsible weather professionals won't either.

Check back tomorrow as I break down the timing and placement a little more.