THE BASIC THINKING FOR MARYLAND'S FIRST SEASONAL SNOW:
Region-wide school delays are unlikely given the storm's fast pace and limited moisture, but intermittent and strong bursts of snow overnight will produce slippery roads and black ice for the Tuesday morning commute.
Baltimore City and Southern Baltimore County: Light and scattered rain showers briefly change over to snow overnight, but only enough to leave a light coating on cars, untreated sidewalks and unpaved surfaces. Don't bet on any system-wide school delays unless there is an overnight surprise brought on by additional upper-level energy or a slowing of the clipper.
Northern Baltimore-Harford-Cecil: 10PM Monday update: Although the system is moving quickly, ambient low- and mid-level moisture preceding the storm has saturated the atmosphere enough that rain is changing to snow in areas that were not expecting much. As radar is already indicating, front-end snow bursts this evening will be followed by back-end bursts along I-95 from approximately White Marsh then north and east to Elkton in the pre-dawn hours. This may be enough to cause slippery roads in less-traveled and hilly areas, causing a nuisance for early commuters. If this scenario plays out, I can see NWS raising a Winter Weather Advisory for Northern Baltimore-Harford and Cecil, resulting in those schools being delayed 1 hour tomorrow...especially if there is a pre-dawn "snowburst."
Northern Baltimore-Harford-Cecil: 10PM Monday update: Although the system is moving quickly, ambient low- and mid-level moisture preceding the storm has saturated the atmosphere enough that rain is changing to snow in areas that were not expecting much. As radar is already indicating, front-end snow bursts this evening will be followed by back-end bursts along I-95 from approximately White Marsh then north and east to Elkton in the pre-dawn hours. This may be enough to cause slippery roads in less-traveled and hilly areas, causing a nuisance for early commuters. If this scenario plays out, I can see NWS raising a Winter Weather Advisory for Northern Baltimore-Harford and Cecil, resulting in those schools being delayed 1 hour tomorrow...especially if there is a pre-dawn "snowburst."