Winter Weather Advisory Issued For Parts Of NoVA This Weekend

WASHINGTON, DC — While Saturday should be a travel day, or a trip to cut down a Christmas tree or a mega-shopping day for many of us, the National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook and a winter weather advisory for the weekend, saying there is the potential for freezing rain on Saturday morning in parts of northern Virginia and the District of Columbia.

A winter weather advisory is in effect from 6 a.m. to noon Saturday for portions of central and western Virginia, western Maryland and eastern West Virginia. Freezing rain and sleet will cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery roads. Slow down and use caution while driving, experts urge.

The advisory includes most areas west of Interstate 95, including Loudoun County and northern Fauquier County.

Must of the rest of the region is under a hazardous weather outlook. Rainfall is expected to begin around dawn on Saturday morning. While air temperatures are expected to be above freezing in most areas on Saturday morning, road surfaces, bridges, and overpasses may remain at or below freezing at the onset of precipitation. This may result in some patches of ice on any surface that remains at or below freezing, especially west of Interstate 95, the Weather Service said. Temperatures on roads, bridges and overpasses should warm above freezing by noon Saturday.

Despite forecast air temperatures being above freezing early on Saturday morning in downtown Baltimore and Washington, there may be residual areas at ground level which will continue to be below freezing. "This will create the potential for patchy areas of ice to accumulate between dawn and 10 a.m. on Saturday morning," the forecasters said. "The greatest potential for this patchy ice will be in the northwest suburbs of Baltimore and Washington, D.C."

Areas in the hazardous weather outlook include: Page, Warren, Clarke, Nelson, Albemarle, Greene, Madison, Rappahannock, Orange, Culpeper, Fauquier, Highland, Loudoun, and Blue Ridge.

While frigid weather is forecast to continue into Friday night, rain and spotty ice will spread across portions of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, according to AccuWeather.

The rain will end from west to east on Saturday night. Travel conditions are expected to substantially improve across the region for the journey home on Sunday.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

Here is the Maryland weather forecast:

Friday Night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 28. Southeast wind 3 to 5 mph.

Saturday: A chance of rain or freezing rain before 10am, then rain. High near 45. East wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no ice accumulation expected.

Saturday Night: Rain likely, mainly before 1am. Patchy fog before 10pm. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 38. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. Northwest wind 5 to 7 mph.

Sunday Night: A chance of rain after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. Calm wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Monday: Rain likely, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 51. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.

Main image via Shutterstock, graphic by AccuWeather