One aspect of Sandy that I did not touch on in yesterday evening's detailed update was the potential for significant winter weather impacts from the system.
Cold air will be drawn into the Western and Northwestern side of the storm, producing a heavy, wet snow event for the mountains of the Virginias, and adjacent higher elevations of Tennessee and North Carolina.
The image below is the GFS computer model forecast of snowfall totals for this region:
Cold air will be drawn into the Western and Northwestern side of the storm, producing a heavy, wet snow event for the mountains of the Virginias, and adjacent higher elevations of Tennessee and North Carolina.
The image below is the GFS computer model forecast of snowfall totals for this region:
As you can see, the model is forecasting fairly widespread snowfall of 12+ inches (white and grey shaded area), with a large area of 6-12 inches surrounding (yellow, red and purple shadings - scale in inches at the left side of the image).
Combine the heavy, wet snow with strong, gusty winds of 30-40 mph and you have the makings of a nasty winter storm in the least, and blizzard to near blizzard conditions in the worst. Most of this will occur on Monday and Tuesday.
Power outages can be expected as a result of the heavy, wet snow and strong winds. Please make sure to have extra batteries, firewood, and an alternate cooking source (like propane for the grill) available if you live in this region and plan to stick around and ride out the storm.
A Winter Storm Watch has been posted for portions of eastern West Virginia, and I'm sure we'll be seeing additional Winter Weather advisories being posted over the coming few days.
Some of the models are suggesting at least light snow for the lower elevations across the region. At this time it appears the primary snowfall will take place above the 1000-1500 foot level, but we will continue to monitor the situation closely and give you any relevant updates as needed...
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