Snow this weekend in Richmond? It's really hard to know.
Last weekend, Richmonders were prepared for snow and ice, having been warned as early as the Monday before that a major storm was coming.
This weekend, it will be an entirely different story.
The reason is the direction the storm is approaching from. Last week's snow developed west-to-east, giving us plenty of time to see it coming.
This weekend's will develop from the east, off the Atlantic Ocean, giving it an air of unpredictability.
The National Weather Service is putting Richmond directly on the line dividing the snow-haves from the snow-have-nots. If the storm inches northward, expect 3-6 inches of snow on Saturday. If the storm inches southward, it could be nothing.
The good news is that any snow will fall as the light, fluffy kind that can be easily shoveled and won't cause major damage to power lines.
The bad news is that temperatures will remain low through the weekend, so the large block of ice coating much of the city will remain in place, at least for now. Temperatures Monday will rise above freezing, which combined with forecasted sunny conditions should allow roads to finally clear.
As for the timing, the NWS predicts that any precipitation in Richmond would begin late Friday night or early Saturday morning, and last most of the day on Saturday.
While Richmond is facing uncertainty, the NWS is feeling more confident that this will be a major weather event in Tidewater and North Carolina's Outer Banks.
The forecasting group is describing "possible blizzard conditions" beginning Saturday night and lasting into Sunday morning, with the potential for major beach erosion as well.
Along with the snow, expect strong winds on Saturday as well as the weather system moves through.
In Richmond, local forecasters are still refining their predictions.
Jessica Kirk at 8News is calling for 2-4 inches of snow, Andrew Freiden at 12 On Your Side is predicting 1-4 inches, and CBS 6 is predicting anywhere from a coating to 2 inches. Meteorologist Sean Sublette noted the storm's unpredictability makes it extremely hard to offer certainty.
Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org.
