Winter storm estimates vary wildly
Anywhere from 2-18 inches of snow forecast around region
Astorm is expected to bring Maryland significant snowfall Wednesday — with up to 18 inches possible in parts of Carroll County and 2 inches to 6 inches forecast closer to Baltimore City.
But forecasters say there’s a fine line between snow and rain, and that line is, as usual, close to the Interstate 95 corridor.
“Baltimore is very much on that rainsnow mix line,” said Michael Souza, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “However, I do think that the Baltimore area is definitely going to see some snow. Just how much is still a little bit to be determined.”
If the forecasted totals materialize, it would be the biggest snowstorm in the Baltimore area since late February 2019 — when 4.5 inches of snow fell in one day.
Last winter, hardly any snow fell in Baltimore. The National Weather Service recorded just 1.8 inches of snowfall all season, compared to 18 inches the winter before. So, Wednesday’s storm is likely to be the most significant of 2020 so far.
The epicenter of Wednesday’s storm in Maryland is likely to be Frederick and Carroll counties, according to the weather service, parts of which received some snow Monday. Portions of those two counties could get anywhere from 12 inches to 18 inches of snow during Wednesday’s storm. Parts of Garrett, Allegany and Washington counties in Western Maryland also received a few inches of snow Monday, and are likely to see more as the week goes on.
Snow is expected to begin Wednesday morning and accumulate through late Wednesday night, according to the weather service.
“Precipitation may mix with rain and sleet at times later Wednesday afternoon and Wednesday night,” according to a weather service update covering Cecil,
Southeast Harford, Central and Southeast Howard and Southern Baltimore counties.
“The heaviest snow is most likely late Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday evening,” reads an update for Garrett, Washington, Carroll and Frederick counties, plus Eastern Allegany, Northwest Harford, Northwest Howard, Northwest Montgomery and Northern Baltimore counties.
More than 8 inches of snow is possible in those regions, the weather service said.
Wednesday’s storm is likely to impact much of the Northeast, including Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City.