Hello everyone!
A strong cold front will cross the region today as low pressure develops along its axis. That means rain this morning will change to snow as the day goes on and colder air moves in. As per usual, the cold air will arrive on scene first in the mountains, where snow is already falling, and will take the longest to reach the coast. Snow should make it into the foothills mid/late morning and all the way to the coast by early/mid afternoon. That said, northwest winds bringing in the cold air will also be downsloping off the mountains which will limit the amount of precipitation available for snow once the cold air is in place. As a result, this will be a pretty minor system outside the foothills and mountains. The coastal plain can expect a general 1-3″ with some 4″ potential farther north and west.
Up in the mountains, heavier snow bands and colder temperatures will support more substantial accumulation. 8-12″ seems like a good bet for most of the mountains, especially outside the valleys. 4-8″ is probably a good rule of thumb for the foothills. Either way, it’ll be messy out there today. Temps will start near freezing in the north and in the mid 40s south before falling rapidly into the 10s and 20s later this afternoon.
-Jack