THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 28, 1996 TAG: 9602280374
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
Enjoy the flip because a chilly flop is coming.
Today could bring a balmy high of 80 degrees, but a return to winter is in store, with the mercury expected to plunge as much as 60 degrees with a low in the 20s forecast for Saturday.
There's even a likelihood of yet another big East Coast snowstorm this weekend, forecasters warn.
The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts just such a major coastal storm Saturday and Sunday.
But there's no need to panic and clear the supermarkets of staples yet. Forecasters probably won't have a handle on exactly where the line will be between rain and snow until Friday. And as of Tuesday, it looked as if southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina would fall in the rain/snow mix area or possibly just see rain. But there's little doubt that it's going to get very cold again.
On Tuesday, the temperature hit 66 at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport.
Today should bring the peak of pleasant weather with a high of between 75 and 80. That will be followed by a steady descent back to cold temperatures. By Friday, Hampton Roads could be back below freezing overnight.
``The weather is turning colder and that is setting us up for the possibility of snowfall,'' said Mike Bono of The Weather Channel. ``It looks like we've got another East Coast snow on our hands.''
A storm is forecast to develop in the Gulf of Mexico and ride the Jet Stream to the northeast. And with ample moisture being pulled in around that storm from the Atlantic, all the ingredients are in place for yet another major storm in a winter that is already the snowiest on record in many parts of the country from Virginia through New England. If the worst does happen, it would come on the anniversary of one of the two big blizzards on record in the area since 1877. On March 1 and 2, 1980, a record-setting storm brought the region to a halt.
Here is the National Weather Service forecast for Hampton Roads:
Today - Partly sunny, breezy and warm with scattered showers and thunderstorms. A high of 75 to 80. Southwest winds at 15 to 25 mph and gusty, shifting to west late in the day. The chance of rain is 50 percent.
Thursday - Partly sunny, breezy and cold with a low in the upper 30s and a high in the mid-40s.
Friday - Mostly sunny and cold with a low in the lower and mid-20s and a high in the low 40s.
Saturday - There is a chance of snow in northern and western sections of Virginia with a chance of rain or snow elsewhere in the state. The low should be in the 20s with a lower-40s high along the coast.
As for the almanac, it calls for snow from the mid-Atlantic states through New England beginning on Saturday.
And if the almanac proves accurate, keep this in mind: It also calls for another winter storm between March 19 and 21. by CNB