Snow Squalls, Arctic Cold Ahead: WEATHER ADVISORY

Hold onto your hats, Maryland. We are under a winter weather advisory Wednesday for snow squalls.

Snow showers and strong winds are in store this afternoon, followed by a wind chill advisory overnight.

The winter weather advisory takes effect from 2 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18, for Baltimore City plus Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard and Montgomery counties.

The advisory calls for heavy snow showers and snow squalls from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Snow Squalls—A snow squall is a “rapid onset of blinding snowfall, strong winds and falling temperatures ... [that] can result in hazardous and potentially deadly road surface conditions,” according to the National Weather Association. Weather officials say there will likely be a coating to an inch of snow; and near the Mason-Dixon line, 1 to 2 inches are possible. Winds will be 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. During snow squalls, there will be a “burst of heavy snow, reduced visibilities and hazardous travel conditions,” according to a special weather statement.

Dangerous Evening Commute—The evening rush may present “dangerous traveling conditions,” according to the advisory, which states that visibility will be reduced to one-quarter mile and roads will be snow-covered. Sometimes snow squalls can create “whiteout” conditions.

Wind Chill Advisory—The National Weather Service also issued a wind chill advisory from midnight to 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19. Temperatures will be in the single digits overnight, with a wind chill of 5 to 15 degrees below zero through Thursday, according to the advisory.

The National Weather Service issued the following statement Wednesday morning about the coming weather:

An arctic cold front will push across the middle Atlantic region this afternoon and evening. The front will be accompanied by snow showers and squalls which will have the potential to produce a quick burst of heavy snow, reduced visibilities and hazardous travel conditions.

The arctic front will push across the I-81 corridor by early afternoon, then through the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metro areas during the late afternoon and early evening.

Behind the front, gusty northwest winds and rapidly falling temperatures will lead to below-zero wind chills and bitterly cold temperatures overnight.

Photo Credit: Emmaus Patch