DATE: Thursday, November 13, 1997           TAG: 9711130498

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   39 lines

SNOW? THERE JUST MIGHT BE A TRACE OVER NEXT FEW DAYS

It's the type of snow to get everyone talking, without leaving anyone digging. And some Virginians may see it over the next few days.

The northern fringe of a storm moving through the Southeast may run into just enough cold air that ``a light amount of conversational snow'' will fall overnight and today in central and Northern Virginia, said Philip Poole of the National Weather Service in Sterling. ``But not enough to cause any problems or undue hardships.''

While chances are that Hampton Roads will not see any snow, yet - just more rain - some of the coldest weather so far this fall will make people bundle up when they go outside this weekend.

Temperatures already are running below average for this time of year. Normally, the high temperature in Hampton Roads in mid-November is 62. But, on Wednesday, the high at the National Weather Service office at Norfolk International Airport was 54.

By Sunday, however, that will seem warm. Daytime highs are not expected to get much past 40, and with the wind that's expected, it will feel even colder. Overnight Saturday, temperatures are forecast to dip to near freezing along the coast with 20s inland.

There may even be another chance for some ``conversational snow'' early Sunday.

And Monday is expected to be just as chilly, if dry.

Here is the local forecast:

Today - Periods of rain with a high in the mid-40s and northeast winds of 15 to 20 mph.

Tonight - Rain continuing with temperatures steady in the mid-40s.

Friday and Saturday - Periods of rain with highs in the lower 50s and lows dipping into the 30s. There's a chance of rain or snow in Northern and western Virginia.

Sunday - A chance of morning rain and snow, then partial clearing with a high near 40 and a low of 25 to 35.

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