CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Weather models, both locally and globally, are predicting a major snowstorm hitting Charlottesville and Virginia over the weekend. Even the most conservative estimates are a significant storm for the Charlottesville area and all of Virginia, while some weather models several days out are predicting a much more major snowfall.
“A little early to speculate on accumulations,” AccuWeather meteorologist Jason Nicholls told WINA Morning News, “but it looks like a very good chance you’ll be having to break out the snow shovels, and the road crews will be out having to clear up some roadways.”
Accuweather and the National Weather Service aren’t mentioning totals, just a high probability of snow Saturday, Saturday night, and Sunday.
29News on-air meteorologists are not speculating about accumulations, but their weather app from Saturday into Sunday evening totals 13-to-21 inches of snow by the time it’s all over Sunday night.
A UK/Met run, a tool used in forecasts based on an array of models and other factors, shows 18-inches, and a European run shows roughly a foot or more of snow.
“It is early, so there are some timing changes, and I can see some snowflakes starting Saturday afternoon,” Nicholls said. “But it looks like on a lot of the models most of the [precipitation] is Saturday night into Sunday, and the good news is it looks like mostly snow which is better than having to deal with the ice.”
With the Arctic air, AccuWeather has highs only in the 20-degree range Saturday and Sunday with temperatures staying mostly below freezing the entirety of next week, meaning any snow that falls is going to stay around for a while.
That could impact events in the Charlottesville area. A UVA athletics spokesperson told Cville Right Now that Saturday’s home basketball game against North Carolina, and its pregame ceremony naming the court at John Paul Jones Arena after former coach Tony Bennett, are still expected to take place.
