First day of Spring brings blanket of snow to Northern Virginia, Massachusetts

© Accuweather/junebug

A storm spreading rain across the South this week will take a northward jog and spread snow to part of the Interstate-95 and I-81 corridors of the Northeast on Friday.

Spring officially arrives on Friday, March 20, at 6:45 p.m. EDT, but Old Man Winter may have the last laugh.

Colder air will invade the Northeast during the middle days of the week, and the atmosphere is likely to remain just cold enough for some wet snow before the week draws to a close.

Despite the colder air, temperatures will be marginal for the storm with a close call between rain and snow along the I-95 corridor in the mid-Atlantic, Long Island and along the southern coast of New England. Much of the snow that falls in this area may melt on roads. However, there will be some exceptions.

A wintry mix of rain and snow is most likely in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Wilmington, Delaware, and Trenton, New Jersey. The storm is likely to impact travel in this area, including the potential for flight delays due to poor visibility and deicing operations. Motorists and pedestrians should be prepared for delays on Friday.

Areas farther north such as Harrisburg, Allentown and Scranton, Pennsylvania; New York City and White Plains, New York; Hartford, Connecticut; and Boston are likely to be cold enough for all or mostly snow. Airline delays due to deicing and poor visibility are likely in the New York City area and perhaps as far north as Boston. Most areas within this swath will receive 1-3 inches of snow with the greatest amount on non-paved surfaces.

Since paved surfaces absorb a considerable amount of warmth from the sun this time of the year, it would have to snow hard to make roads slippery during the daylight hours. However, even a light to moderate snow falling at night or early in the morning can be enough to make roads slushy. Motorists should be on the lookout for slippery roads in the suburbs, as well as bridges and overpasses of the major cities.

A pocket of moderate snowfall, on the order of 3-6 inches is possible in parts of northern Virginia, northeastern West Virginia, western Maryland and south-central Pennsylvania, where several inches can accumulate. The snow will also begin late Thursday night to early Friday morning in much of this zone, when roads are at their lowest temperature.

A second pocket of moderate snow could develop in part of northeastern Pennsylvania to northern New Jersey, part of southeastern New York state and western Connecticut but this will tend to occur during the middle of the day.

Winds will generally be light with the storm over the interior. However enough of an onshore breeze combined with high astronomical tides could result in minor incidents of coastal flooding from southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina to southern New England.

On a positive note, the storm on Friday into Saturday could be very photogenic. The wet nature of the snow could cling to tree limbs and surround early spring flowers that have begun to bloom.

The snow is not likely to be heavy enough to weigh down a great number tree limbs, so that any power outages would be very sporadic.

Additional waves of cold air forecast to move in through the first part of April could lead to additional opportunities for late-season snow in the region.

As a another storm system slices to the east from the Great Lakes on Saturday, there could be a second chance at snow in New England and upstate New York, which are likely going to be missed by the first round of snow from Friday.

More details will follow on the potential snowfall in parts of the Northeast on AccuWeather.com.