D.C.-Area Snowfall Possible Wednesday Night

WASHINGTON -- Thursday morning's commute could be interesting if D.C.-area residents wake up to an accumulating snowfall. And while that's not a sure bet, it's a possibility for Wednesday night and early Thursday morning.

Capital Weather Gang's Wes Junker noted Monday that 3 to 4 inches of snow could fall in the D.C. area with the incoming system, depending on if surface temperatures fall below freezing:

Snow lovers, before getting too excited about the chances of getting those type of accumulations, there is an important caveat. The surface temperatures are forecast to cool slower than the temperatures aloft and the surface temperatures may have hard time falling below freezing especially inside the beltway and in locations south and east of the city. Plus there is still a chance (albeit one that is shrinking) that the surface temperatures stay too warm for snow especially if the storm ends up tracking a little farther north and west than currently forecast.

In late October, parts of the D.C. area saw some snow showers associated with a powerful Nor'easter storm that brought a surprising early snowfall to the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Locally, that storm had more of an impact in D.C.'s Northern Virginia and Montgomery County suburbs.

The D.C. area has been coming off a recent stretch of above-normal temperatures, but colder weather and rain is pushing into the area today.