The wake up temp in Salisbury this morning is 10 degrees. The cold air is going nowhere as temperatures will remain in the mid 20’s throughout the remainder of the week and into a potentially stormy weekend.

It is almost as though Mother Nature will set the thermostat to 26 degrees for the next few days. The cold air mass is preparing to meet up with a southern storm.

Confidence is growing that a potentially significant winter storm is brewing that will effect areas to the south this weekend. A strong low pressure system is expected to develop off of the Southeast coast with hurricane force winds, high seas, and even blizzard conditions possible in areas directly effected by the system.

The development of the storm is a near certainty. Where the low pressure specifically ends up is not a certainty. That is why it would be foolish to place all of one’s confidence in one particular weather model. We should patiently wait for the models to align a bit more.

A storm that hugs the coast would produce a nor’easter. If the low moves several miles to the east offshore it would bring us less wind and less snow.

Currently most models can agree on a significant snow with high winds in North Carolina to the Virginia Beach area, thus Winter Storm Watches have been issued there.

Winter Storm Watches are also in effect for Worcester and Somerset Counties on the Eastern Shore.

Note that Wicomico County is not under the Watch at this time. That indicates that if the storm remains on its current track that snowfall totals on the Lower Eastern Shore would decrease from west to east.

An example, and not a prediction, of a possible scenario would be an inch of snow in Cambridge, 3 inches in Salisbury, and 5 or more inches in Ocean City.

As of this morning it appears as though the wrath of the storm will be to the south and east of Salisbury, so forecasts are only including light snow Saturday night into Sunday morning for our area.

There is also a 100% chance that the forecast will be modified in the days ahead.