UPDATE: Snow and Ice Could Make Wednesday Commute Tricky in Baltimore and D.C.

BALTIMORE – What could be the last storm this month is expected to impact parts of the Eastern Seaboard Wednesday through Thursday, with a blast of arctic air, ice and snow, according to the Accuweather forecast. For Baltimore and Washington, D.C., expect flurries Wednesday afternoon and a slippery commute Thursday as snow and ice stage a last stand for February.

But it’s good news that the two weeks of wintry weather across the central and eastern United States will end this week, according to Accuweather reports. There is expected to be heavy accumulation on parts of Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland and Delaware. A moderate snowfall is in store for much of West Virginia. Some snow will extend north and west of this area, while icy conditions occur just to the south.

Among the areas that could get the heaviest snowfall of several inches Wednesday into early Thursday are Norfolk and Richmond, Virginia; Winston-Salem and Raleigh, North Carolina; and Salisbury, Maryland. As much as 6-12 inches of snow is forecast with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ and possibly 25 inches could occur in southeastern Virginia and part of Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

“The brewing snowstorm will have two key pieces associated with it, “AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. “Those being a fresh injection of Arctic air and the fact that it will be the caboose in the long train of February storms as the last storm in a series is often the strongest.”

Following rain and wintry precipitation over the last couple of weeks, the mid-Atlantic will see impacts Wednesday into Thursday, warn AccuWeather meteorologists. And the Carolinas are not out of the woods for the winter either, as with colder air coming in and the storm taking a southern track, snow will hit the Carolinas. 

“Richmond, Virginia, to Norfolk, Virginia, and perhaps Raleigh, North Carolina, may experience their largest snow of the winter thus far with a swath of 6-12 inches of snow, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 25 inches, expected across the mid-Atlantic,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Grady Gilman.

Southeastern Virginia looks to get the most snow on this storm. The biggest storm of the season thus far in this region came through on Jan. 5-6, dropping around 6 inches in Richmond. There is a decent chance the storm this week could eclipse that threshold.

“The timing of the snow in parts of the Interstate 95 corridor on Wednesday afternoon may be particularly challenging,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis. “Snow arriving in the afternoon in places such as Washington, D.C., and Baltimore could lead to rapidly deteriorating travel conditions going into the afternoon. 

AccuWeather forecasts show a southward wedge of dry air could limit the snowfall north and west of the Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. zone. One to four inches may accumulate along the I-95 corridor from Washington, D.C. to New York City and Boston. 

“Snowfall accumulations in the Northeast, especially in New England, will be heavily dependent on the track of the storm,” said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kerry Schwindenhammer. “A sharper turn up the coast on Thursday could lead to noticeably higher amounts for places as far north as Boston, Providence, Rhode Island, and even Portland, Maine.”

But there is also a possibility for a much desired reprieve in Washington, D.C., weather-wise.

Should the storm be more compact and track farther to the south, little to no snow may fall from Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia to New York City and Boston, Accuweather suggests. If that were the case, heavier snow could focus from the southern part of the Delmarva Peninsula to southern Virginia and the northern part of North Carolina.

To check the weather in your area, go to the Accuweather forecast here.