Winter refuses to yield

Published 8:54 am Thursday, March 5, 2015

The calendar has finally flipped to March, but Old Man Winter remains.

On the heels of several recent rounds of snow and ice comes one more shot of winter Thursday night. And this one arrives after Roanoke-Chowan area residents thawed out on Wednesday where the high temperature reached the low 70’s.

The National Weather Service Office in Wakefield, VA is calling for rain (a quarter to one-half inch is possible) during the daylight hours today (Thursday) and then for the thermometer to plummet to just above freezing by 5 p.m.

That cold air will open the door for a chance of snow and sleet prior to 9 p.m. followed by all sleet until midnight.

Snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch is possible, according to the NWS.

It appears the heaviest of the frozen precipitation will remain to our north. The southside area of Virginia, northward to Williamsburg and beyond, could see a mix of ran, sleet, snow and possibly even freezing rain. Little or no ice accumulation is expected there, but snowfall in the range of 4-to-6 inches is possible in the middle and upper peninsula area of Virginia.

In the Roanoke-Chowan area, Thursday night’s low is expected to be in the upper teens. It will be sunny and cold on Friday with a high in the mid 30’s, dropping into the teens overnight.

The extended forecast calls for mostly sunny skies on Saturday and Sunday with highs in the upper 40’s and low 50’s.

About Cal Bryant

Cal Bryant, a 40-year veteran of the newspaper industry, serves as the Editor at Roanoke-Chowan Publications, publishers of the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, Gates County Index, and Front Porch Living magazine.

email author More by Cal