THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996 TAG: 9602160484
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Pull out the mittens, but don't grab the snow shovel.
A cold weekend is in store for Virginia and North Carolina, and folks traveling to the western sections of the two states may have to contend with some snow, but locally, only rain possibly mixing with a little snow seems likely.
Even a thunderstorm is possible today as an expected northeaster begins to come together off shore.
With that, winds should increase from 20 to 25 mph overnight to gale force today, and seas will get rough.
The dramatic change from temperatures in the 70s just a few days ago comes as Arctic air overruns much of the nation. Just as record-breaking warmth extended to the Canadian border last week, freezing temperatures are expected to dip as far south as northern Florida.
As for the northeaster, it is expected to come together off the Virginia and North Carolina coasts this afternoon when a low-pressure system that was in the Midwest on Thursday speeds southeast to merge with a stalled low off the coast.
Once the systems merge, forecasters expect the new storm to rapidly intensify as it moves northeast, bringing another major snowfall to Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and New England.
This storm is not expected to be a blizzard, but it could be a record-breaker.
In Providence, R.I., for instance, 71 inches - almost 6 feet - of snow has fallen this year. The record snowfall there is 75.6 inches, from the winter of 1947-48. Several other locations in the Northeast are getting close to all-time snow records.
In eastern Virginia, there may be some some snow flurries or rain mixed with snow today, but the freezing temperatures are not expected to arrive until just before the precipitation ends.
In North Carolina, a snow advisory has been posted for the northern and portions of the central mountains through this morning, with between 1 and 3 inches of snow likely before the snow tapers to flurries. Some higher elevations could see more than 4 inches.
The National Weather Service forecast calls for occasional rain this morning, with partial clearing in the afternoon. It will be windy and colder, with a high around 40. The chance of rain is 80 percent.
Saturday is expected to be partly sunny, blustery and very cold, with a low in the teens in Hampton Roads and in the single digits far inland. The high will be in the 20s.
Sunday should be mostly sunny and even colder across Virginia, with a low near zero in the west, about 10 above in the northern and central areas of the state and in the teens in southeast Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. The high should be in the low 30s locally.
Monday will bring increasing cloudiness, with a low near 20 in Hampton Roads and a high near 35.
KEYWORDS: WEATHER by CNB