The storm is here and has already given parts of the country extreme weather via rapid drops in temperatures, heavy snow, and strong winds. This extreme weather is associated with the strong cold front that will move through the region Friday. Before this cold front, we have snow and rain moving north on Thursday. Check out the current radar from 715 - 845 am Thursday. 

Precipitation will continue to spread north on Thursday and produce a few inches of snow ahead of warm air and rain. Snow will be heaviest in the PA, MD, and WV areas. Warm air will change snow and mixed precipitation to rain on Thursday within a few hours, and fall heavy at times. This area of precipitation will clear the region Thursday evening. 

A dry slot will bring a rest Friday morning as we look to the west at a very strong cold front. The cold front is moving faster and will affect the western Mid-Atlantic at 4 - 8 am and continue the eastern Mid-Atlantic at 10 am - 12 pm on Friday. There will be some rain ahead of the cold front, but precipitation will change quickly to heavy bursts of snow with very strong winds. 

• Winds will be sustained at 20-30 mph with gusts over 60 mph
• Temperatures will drop from the 30s/40s to the teens within a few hours
• Snow will be brief but intense and drop 1-4 inches Friday in the higher terrain
• Flash freezing of ponded water and ski slopes is likely Friday night

Check out the NAM 12 km model’s depiction of precipitation type and intensity from 1 pm Thursday, December 22nd to 1 pm Sunday, December 25th. 

Let’s take another look at this amazing storm via the NAM 12 km temperature changes from 1 pm Thursday, December 22nd to 1 pm Sunday, December 25th. 

Our friends down in North Carolina will experience similar weather conditions with strong winds, rapid drops in temperatures, and a brief period of snow adding 1-2 inches. 

We have already seen resorts planning to close on Friday and part of the weekend in anticipation of this cold front and extreme weather. Winds will continue to be strong behind the cold front Friday night into the weekend at 10-30 mph dropping wind chills well below 0! Additionally, winds will shift to the southwest, which means lake effect snow will develop off of Lake Erie into western NY. 

A few snow showers will extend into the western Mid-Atlantic as well but produce minimal snow accumulations. The areas around Buffalo, NY will see a very strong lake effect snow band develop Friday evening and continue until Sunday afternoon. The National Weather Service has issued blizzard warnings to this area because of the heavy snow and strong wind.

The snow band will move further south on Sunday into Monday to the PA/NY border. This will not be a 6-foot snow band, but still drop several feet of snow in this area, perhaps reaching 4 feet! The Buffalo Ski Club is expected to see 20-30 inches and Kissing Bridge could see 10-20 inches. 

Here is a look at the NAM 12 km model's snow accumulations from Thursday to 1 pm Sunday. 

Several more inches of snow will fall Sunday evening through Tuesday morning in the northwestern Mid-Atlantic. The large lake effect band will move south Sunday evening and spread 1-6 inches of snow to Peek'n Peak and Holiday Valley. This will continue until Tuesday morning, December 27th. 

The main story this weekend continues to be the extreme cold temperatures. High temperatures on Saturday will be around 0 degrees and in the single digits. Wind chills will be in the -10s in the eastern half of the Mid-Atlantic but drop to the -20s in the western half. Temperatures warm a bit on Sunday with highs in the upper single digits and teens. Wind chills remain in the single digits to the east and below 0 to the west. 

Temperatures will be extremely cold, so keep a tab on resort closures and wind delays, which will be expected this weekend. 

Looking into next week, the weather will warm drastically. Seasonable temperatures are expected for the first half with above-average near the end of the week. It will be a mostly dry Holiday week as well, which means it will be a great opportunity to get on the slopes. There is terrain available for all levels so make sure to bring the whole family! 

Thanks for reading the forecast and I will continue to provide daily updates with the latest cold front timing on Friday. 

Zach Butler, Meteorologist for the Mid-Atlantic Daily Snow.