Weather

Up To 9" Snow Possible In Reston, And More May Be On The Way

Weather models are predicting snow between a dusting and up to nine inches this weekend, and signs indicate that more snow could be coming.

RESTON, VA -- Forecasters are watching a storm headed our way this weekend that one model suggests could drop as much as nine inches of the white stuff on the Reston area, and new developments thousands of miles from here could mean even more snowfall is on the way soon after that. But a word of caution: nine inches is on the extreme end of the spectrum, and a dusting (or even nothing) is on the other end.

The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang notes that this far out, it's hard to make any rock-solid predictions, and models vary widely. However, the average of all American model forecasts is about two to four inches of snow this weekend, likely falling between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Fox 5 predicts about an inch of snow for the region, based on the Euro model. However, the GFS/American model puts D.C. squarely in the range of six to nine inches, and perhaps as much as a foot farther south toward Fredericksburg.

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

But just a few scattered flakes -- or nothing at all -- is just as likely. And considering D.C.'s penchant for totally missing snowfall, you could be forgiven for betting on that outcome.

The big question is the precipitation, because it will certainly be cold enough this weekend. Forecasters are watching whether a storm expected to develop in the south and then head in our direction will actually hit us or stay too far south.

Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Regardless of what happens this weekend, we could be in for plenty of opportunities for snowstorms this winter starting very soon. The polar vortex split in three recently, and WeatherBELL predicts a strong winter pattern signal for the Eastern United States coming in mid-January.

So if you don't have one yet, it may be time to grab a snow shovel at the store.

(Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)


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