Measurable Snow In Forecast For DC Area On Friday, Saturday

VIRGINIA/DC — A major winter storm forecast to clobber New England on Saturday is expected to bring a few inches of snow to the Washington, D.C., area this weekend. Light snow will begin in the D.C. area Friday afternoon and evening, and continue into Saturday morning.

The National Weather Service projects that D.C. and the close-in Virginia suburbs, along with the Fredericksburg area, could get 3 to 4 inches of snow, while the western suburbs will see 2 to 3 inches of snow on the ground by early Saturday morning.

Southern Maryland is forecast to get 5 to 8 inches of snow, while Ocean City, Maryland, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, could receive between 6 and 12 inches.

"As we head into late week, be aware of the potential for winter weather," the NWS said about the D.C. area. "There is a slight to enhanced winter storm threat for the area, with snow likely developing Friday for most and continuing through Saturday morning."

According to The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang, most weather models show a few inches possible in D.C. and Northern Virginia. "But a small shift west in the storm track could still get us into the heavier snow," the forecasters said.

The storm, which will develop off the coast of the Carolinas, could rapidly strengthen as it moves northward along the East Coast. The heaviest snowfall from the storm is expected in areas such as Boston and much of New England, which could get between 12 and 18 inches of snow, according to AccuWeather.

"Farther to the south and west in the mid-Atlantic, a threat of heavy snow exists in New York City and Philadelphia and perhaps as far inland as Baltimore and Washington, D.C.," AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.

The snow will cause slow travel along Interstate 95 through Virginia into Maryland and northward, Porter said.

AccuWeather forecasters agreed with the Capital Weather Gang, noting that if the storm moves as little as 50 miles farther to the west than currently expected, the projected accumulations of 3 to 4 inches for D.C. and the close-in suburbs could be doubled. However, if the opposite happens and the storm tracks 50 miles farther to the east, snowfall in these areas could be halved.

In his forecast, NBC4 meteorologist Chuck Bell said the storm will bring some snow to D.C. and Northern Virginia. "But there isn't any real confidence in how much. I can say that the odds of DC getting more than 3-4 inches remain low," Bell wrote in a tweet.

By Saturday afternoon, gusty winds will make it feel like the teens, followed by wind chills in the single digits Saturday night, according to the Capital Weather Gang.

Here's the NWS forecast for D.C. and Northern Virginia over the next several days:

Wednesday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 15.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 35.

Thursday night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 26.

Friday: A chance of snow before 10 a.m., then a chance of rain and snow between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., then a chance of snow after 4 p.m. Cloudy, with a high near 37.

Friday night: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 23.

Saturday: A chance of snow. Partly sunny, with a high near 26. Blustery.

Saturday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 14. Blustery.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 30.

Sunday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 19.