Big storm, little storm, some snow, lotta snow. Which will it be?

These are the times that try weather forecasters’ souls…and I’m glad I’m not one of the professionals tasked with providing exact answers on what will happen this weekend.  I just read the 5:00 pm NWS Sterling forecast discussion and then looked at the NWS forecast page for Fredericksburg, and they don’t agree with each other at the moment.  In fact, the forecast discussion is very iffy on details since the model solutions are inconsistent.  Sooooooo…I think I’ll play it very safe and provide the following “guess” on this weekend’s weather:

(1) It will snow, and it will be cold enough in the ‘Burg for whatever falls to be all snow and not a mix.

(2) It will start later than the models originally indicated, probably not until near sunrise Saturday (Christmas) morning, and will snow pretty much through the daylight hours.  How long it continues into Saturday night and – maybe – Sunday is still up in the air…pun intended.

(3) And now for the tricky part…by the time it’s all said and done we could have a little snow (a couple inches) or some snow (several inches).  I don’t believe a deep snow (foot or more) is in the works, so I will go out on a limb and rule out a major storm for us here in the ‘Burg.

Travel will likely be iffy on Saturday and possibly Sunday, so pay close attention to the official forecasts.  They will become more solid and less wobbly over the next 36 hours.   And wish the professional forecasters a Merry Christmas, ’cause they’re gonna need it!!

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