Hello everyone and Happy Summer!  I hope you all are doing well and staying cool.

Just a quick update regarding Tropical Storm Elsa and it's potential impacts to our state's coastal areas (from the NWS):

Tropical Storm Update 🌊:  Rainfall has started in Ocean City and will likely intensify over the next several hours. Tropical Storm Elsa has arrived in Delmarva and will stick around until early Friday morning. A tropical storm warning is in effect. Other weather alerts include a tornado watch through 11 p.m. Thursday and a Flash Flood Watch until 5 a.m. Friday. Winds of 40 mph or greater are expected, with gusts even reaching 50 mph. Forecasters expect 1-2 inches of rain in Ocean City, though higher amounts of 2-4 inches are possible depending on the storm track. 

From the town of Ocean City:
"The Town of Ocean City has begun completing pre-storm action items, including closing the seawall and removing items from the beach. Strong winds and large waves will also create hazardous marine conditions," the town said in a press release. "Beachgoers are reminded to swim only when the lifeguards are on duty. Residents are encouraged to begin securing outdoor furniture, grills, and waters vessels and prepare for power outages." 

Stay tuned for additional updates as the storm moves through the area over the next 12 hours.

SNOW UPDATE ❄️: There is a slight chance for a dusting to 3” of snow tomorrow morning through midday for the northern/central portion of the state. After that, we will be warming up some for a bit. The NWS has a Winter Weather Advisory in place.

Stay tuned and #followthesnowman ⛄️

SNOW/ICE UPDATE ❄️:  All is still on track 😁👍 ... not much to change from the last update.  Heavy snow is expected starting in the early morning hours of Thursday clear through Friday morning.  As temperatures fluctuate throughout the day ... sleet and freezing rain could potentially mix in (especially further south in the state).  The entire state (with the exception of the parts of the eastern shore) is under a winter storm warning by the NWS.

Here's what we might see (according to the NWS):
WHAT:  Heavy snow along with sleet and freezing rain. Snow and sleet accumulation around 3 to 6 inches with ice accumulation around one tenth to one quarter of an inch. The highest ice accumulation is most likely east of Interstate 95.
WHERE:  The Washington and Baltimore Metropolitan areas.
WHEN:  From 3 AM Thursday to 6 AM EST Friday. Snow will begin between 3 and 5 AM. Snow will change to a mixture of sleet and freezing rain during the late morning and early afternoon hours.
POTENTIAL IMPACTS: Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the ice. Travel could be nearly impossible. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS:  Snow Thursday morning will be heavy at times with snowfall rates around 1 to 2 inches per hour possible along with visibility reduced to around one-quarter
mile at time.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS: If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.  When venturing outside, watch your first few steps taken on steps, sidewalks, and driveways, which could be icy and slippery increasing your risk of a fall and injury.

As I mentioned in last night's update ... a widespread 6" of snow is still expected with pockets of potentially much heavier snow.  More snow in the north, more chance of ice mixing in ... in the south.

Here we go! Stay safe everyone and enjoy. 😁👍

Stay tuned and #followthesnowman ⛄️

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SNOW UPDATE ❄️:  Thinking about Texas as I write this post ... and the rest of the mid-west with extreme temps.  The family that I have that lives out in Iowa woke up to -20 degree F as the actual temperature ... with a -30 "feels like" temp this morning.  Their furnace has been running non-stop ... does not shut off.  Fortunately they are staying safe so far.  Deadly temperatures. ⚠️

So, what's up for us on Thursday?  Well ... looks like the possibility for more significant snow. The latest runs of the computer models are suggesting a widespread half a foot plus of snow across much of the state.  Some areas could see upwards of 10-12 inches + 😯

The National Weather Service has placed a significant portion of Maryland under a winter storm watch for the following:

WHAT:  Total snow accumulations of 5 or more inches and total ice accumulations of a quarter inch or more are possible.
WHERE:  Pretty much the entire Baltimore/Washington area.  Heavier amounts the further north you head.
TIMING:  From late Wednesday night through late Thursday night.
POTENTIAL IMPACTS:  Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the ice. Travel could be nearly impossible.

Yet another one to monitor closely.  The confidence of the storm is high ... the amount of snow vs. ice is still in question.  Let's hope for the system to favor snow 😁👍 ... ain't nobody got time for the ice 😝👎.

Stay tuned and #followthesnowman ⛄️

SNOW, COLD and ICE UPDATE ❄️🥶🤪:  Happy President's Day! 🇺🇸  Hope your Mondays are going well.  Some of the coldest air that we've seen across the United States in many years has blanketed the country.  Snow on the beaches of Texas ... snow on the Texas/Mexico border ... negative actual temperatures across the US are just some of the things our fellow Americans are experiencing in the midwest/south.  

What can we expect out of this?  Well ... cold temps ... but nothing compared to the extremes the midwest are seeing at the moment.  Still more of a chance for light freezing rain this evening into tomorrow.  The NWS has portions of northern MD under a Winter Weather Advisory for the following:

WHEN:  5 PM tonight (Monday) to 7 AM tomorrow (Tu

WHAT: Expect light to moderate accumulations of wintry precipitation that will make sidewalks and roads icy. 

LOOKING AHEAD:  Keeping eyes 👀 on Thursday.  This looks like our next best chance for snow and yes, unfortunately, more ice.  🌨🤔

Use caution all week as we are in a pattern that can make surfaces deadly.  Assume everything is slick over the next many days even if it doesn't appear to be ... just to be on the safe side.  Proceed with caution.  ⚠️

Check out these graphics ... stay tuned and #followthesnowman ☃️

These were *actual* temps across the midwest this morning.  This is what was being displayed on people's thermometers when they woke up to start the week.

How about we put a happy little winter storm warning across 2500 hundred miles, just like this. 🎨👨🏼‍🎨

ICE UPDATE:  Good evening everyone!  TGIF!  Another work week of this crazy rollercoaster of life winds down.  The winter weather continues to roll on, however.  Ice is still expected tomorrow.  The possible arrival time has changed substantially, but it appears we might expect a bit less ice.  This should hopefully cut back on power outages, but we need to keep in mind it doesn't matter how much ice we see ... it can quickly make untreated surfaces quite dangerous.  

The NWS has put much of MD under a Winter Weather Advisory while portions of southern MD are under a Winter Storm Warning.  Here is an update of what we could possibly see tomorrow and when we might possibly see it.:

Timing:  7AM Saturday to 7AM Sunday

What to expect:  Sleet and freezing rain. Total sleet accumulations of
less than one inch and ice accumulations of up to one tenth of
an inch.

Where:  Northern, Central, and Northeastern MD.

Additional info from the NWS:  Slow down and use caution while traveling. When venturing outside, watch your first few steps taken on steps, sidewalks, and driveways, which could be icy and slippery, increasing your risk of a fall and injury.

Some more thoughts:  This system appears as though it will move south to north.  Slick surfaces can be expected throughout the day tomorrow (Saturday) ... conditions are expected to get much worse by the late afternoon/evening hours and overnight into Sunday morning. 

Please use caution and stay safe.

Stay tuned and #followthesnowman ⛄️

SNOW/ICE UPDATE ❄️:  Round 1☝️ blessed much of the state with a decent amount of snow.  I measured approx. 5 inches of snow here at TSH (The Snowman Headquarters in Westminster, MD).

Round 2✌️ was originally shaping up nicely ... tracked south, then back north and now back south again.  The southern most portions of the state could see 1-2 inches of snow overnight into tomorrow morning.  Little to nothing for everyone else.

Now the concern is focused on Saturday late afternoon into dawn"ish" on Sunday.  The infamous ⚠️ICE⚠️.  Freezing rain could potentially severely impact much of the state ... with up to a half inch of ice (according to the recent European computer model).  Dangerous stuff ... the kind that can create widespread power outages and impassable roadways (if not treated).  More detailed information should roll in tomorrow, but this is definitely one to keep on our radars.

We will soon be seeing some of the coldest air that MD has experienced in a while ... rolling through from the north!  Teens?  Single digits?  Both are possible.  Also ... a lot of winter weather possibilities for the upcoming week.  Looks like it could be "eventful."

Graphics below:
The first graphic (from the NWS): Shows the potential impacts of "round 2."
The second graphic (from Foot's Forecast):  Shows the potential impact area of the expected freezing rain Saturday --> Sunday.  

Stay tuned and #followthesnowman ⛄️ 

SNOW UPDATE ❄️:  Winter storm watches and warnings have been placed across the state by the NWS.  The first part of this system is still right on track 🚂❄️.  In fact, computer models are suggesting possibly just a wee bit more than my initial thought of 3-5" inches I was seeing yesterday ... according to the NWS, now some parts of the state (northern counties) could see upwards of 8" inches of snow. 😯

Here's what many could see (a reminder ... this is JUST round 1 😯👍):
TIMING: Tonight 7PM - Thursday 10AM
WHAT: SNOW (heavy at times)
ACCUMULATION:  4-8" of snow (highest amounts expected across the northern portions of the state.)

A Winter Storm Watch has already been placed for Thursday night into Friday.  I've been watching this second round.  Models initially had it taking a dip toward the south, but it appears to be trending back north.  We will have to keep an eye on it.  Confidence remains high.

So here we go!  Get ready for some more snow!  While it didn't take much, this season has already been more "active" than the past many!  I'm loving it!!! 😁

Stay tuned and #followthesnowman ⛄️

SNOW UPDATE (Wed --> Fri) ❄️:  Good afternoon all you snow lovers (and a few haters ... we still ❤️ you 😁)!  A multi-day system is still in the works for this week (Wednesday --> Friday).  Significant snow is expected over the course of 3 days with the heaviest appearing to be in the overnight hours of Friday morning.  Surface and air temperatures appear as though they will both be working as a team this time ... remaining below freezing.  If this happens, we should see ALL SNOW!  None of the freezing rain icy mess.  😀👍

The NWS has issued winter storm watches for our friends out in the panhandle of the state.  We might expect those to move further east throughout the evening hours.  If the storm had a "game plan" ... here is what it might look like (based on a summary of the current computer models):

Part 1:  Wednesday evening --> Thursday evening.  Relatively light, but lengthy in duration.  3-5" of snow possible with this first round.

Part 2:  Thursday night --> Friday morning.  Possibly the heaviest snowfall will occur ... our greatest chance for highest accumulation.  An additional 4-6" of snow could fall.

Between the two systems we could see anywhere from 5-10+ inches" combined of snow between Wednesday and Friday.  This multi-day system is expected to be widespread across the state ... meaning nearly everyone should experience a little bit of something. 🤔🤞❄️

I am really excited to see the next runs of the computer models.   I am sure I will be chiming back in again really soon.  Below are graphics from the NWS with some of their first calls.

The "SUEAS" (Snowman Update Email Alert System) seems to be working well.  Thanks for the feedback ... great to have you all along for the ride.  Trying to keep up with all the new snowman community members that are registering.  The mailing list should be up to date as of 4:00PM today.  If you'd like to join us ... simply enter your email address in the box at the top of the page.

Once this finishes up ... our "playlist of wintry weather" appears as though it will jam 😎🎸on into ❤️Valentine's Day❤️ with yet another system.  More on that eventually.   

Stay tuned and #followthesnowman ⛄️

SNOW/ICE UPDATE ❄️:  The next many days are expected to feel very "wintry." 🌨  Between exceptionally cold temps and the threat of frozen precipitation every day from now until Friday (and beyond 😯), it might just feel like the arctic in the good'ole state of MD for awhile. 🥶

Let's start off with tomorrow.  We could see a mix of freezing rain/rain/snow during the morning hours.  The ground is chilled more than enough for any untreated surfaces to possibly freeze up.  Wednesday all the way through Friday there is moderate confidence of significant snow across the state!  First calls for accumulation should start to roll in again very soon.  Saturday appears to take a break with just flurries at the moment, but freezing rain and snow might greet us again by Sunday and Monday.  

After all that wintriness ... just in case that wasn't enough ... we will be left with some of the coldest air of the season for many weeks into the foreseeable future. 😳😯🥶