Area could get sleet, rain, ice and snow

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for Richmond and its surrounding counties, saying the area can expect an inch or less of mixed precipitation starting late this morning.

According to an update issued shortly before daybreak, snow and sleet are to develop from the southwest and steadily change to freezing rain and rain by late afternoon. The precipitation is expected to mix with or change back to snow late tonight before ending overnight.

The winter weather advisory expires at 6 a.m. tomorrow.

And the really good news? For the first time in a while, there's no snow in the weekend forecast. The weather service says the forecast for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday is for sunny skies all four days and highs in the low 40s.

(This has been a breaking weather news update. Check back for continuous coverage. This morning's story from the print edition of the Richmond Times-Dispatch is posted below.)

The Richmond area could see a mix of sleet and snow beginning this afternoon, changing to rain by evening with possibly a one-tenth inch accumulation of ice, the National Weather Service says.

The freezing rain is expected to continue into tomorrow before it turns to snow by 7 a.m. The snow should continue through late tomorrow afternoon, but with no more than a 1-inch accumulation in the Richmond area, according to the weather service.

"We should clear out Wednesday night," said Andy McLaurin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield.

McLaurin said he expects little or no accumulation of the sleet-snow mix predicted for this afternoon. But as it changes to rain this evening, the area could see one-tenth inch of ice "associated with the freezing rain and sleet."

Little snow is expected to pile up tomorrow, he said.

"This is not a big event for us," said David Tolleris, a commercial meteorologist in Chesterfield County.

Tolleris agrees that the area will see mixed precipitation today, probably closer to the evening hours.

"I do not see this as being mostly snow," he said. "It will start off as a period of snow, probably turning over to rain. It looks to be mostly a mixed-precipitation event."

He added: "There could be some icing concerns for Richmond here."

Areas north and/or west of Richmond -- such as Short Pump, Ashland, and Amelia and Goochland counties -- could see an inch or two of snow or a snow-sleet mixture, he said.

"Then it mixes, and [we get] a mixture of sleet and snow and rain overnight," Tolleris said. That will continue into early tomorrow but end by sunrise, he said.

Farther to the north, Tolleris said the Washington area could get hit with another round of heavy snow.

"Some models have it at 6to 10-inch bands [of snow], and some have it at 12to 16-inch bands," he said.

"There's going to be a very strong cutoff to the snow up in the northwest [area of the state] and Northern Virginia. So if you're south of Manassas, you will see a lot less snow than D.C. will. It will be a huge amount of difference."

As an extra precaution in advance of another potential snowfall, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell yesterday updated the existing state of emergency throughout the state.

This authorizes the state to continue to help local governments respond to storm conditions.

Contact Mark Bowes at (804) 649-6450 or .