An area of low pressure will approach the region from the Ohio River Valley tomorrow night through Friday afternoon with a wintry mix of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain throughout the region.
The precipitation will enter the northern Mid Atlantic between 10 PM tomorrow and Midnight with snow initially for most locations expected for the southern New Jersey coast where rain is expected. An easterly wind in place will support gradual warming of the surface to above freezing temperatures from southeast to northwest along the coastal plain.
From midnight through 6 AM Friday, the snow will mix over to sleet and freezing rain to the northwest of the I-95 corridor and rain along the I-95 corridor. Snowfall in this time period will be tied to the speed of transition to sleet and freezing rain. The faster the transition, the lower the snowfall amounts. However, freezing rain will be a significant concern for areas in zone 3 and 4 where over 0.10″ of ice accretion will be possible on surfaces.
From 6 AM through 12 PM on Friday, the warm air will overtake the low-level cold air and change all precipitation over to rain along the coast and gradually in zones 3 and 4. A wintry mix will begin to develop in zone 5 where heavy wet snow will begin to mix with sleet. Zone 6 will continue to feature steady moderate to heavy wet snowfall with no mixing expected.
From 12 PM to 10 PM, the precipitation shield will exit from west to east with temperatures rising to around freezing over the interior and above freezing along the coast, as warm as the lower 50s in southern New Jersey.
There is potential for a warmer solution which may lead to a reduction of snow and ice impacts, especially over southeastern Pennsylvania, central New Jersey, and southeastern New York including Long Island.
