Snowy Sandy: A True "Snowicane"

Tom Niziol Published: Oct 28, 2012, 1:16 PM EDT weather.com

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Significant high-elevation snowfall from Sandy across the central Appalachians Monday through Tuesday night.

Central Appalachians - Eastern West Virginia, Southwestern Virginia, Extreme Western North Carolina, Western/Central Pennsylvania

Significant "elevation" snowfall will occur across the higher elevations of the Appalachians Monday through Tuesday night. A critical combination of wind, moisture and cold air will be players in this component of Sandy. In particular, very strong northwest winds will hit the western slopes of the Appalachians creating rapid lift which results in heavy precipitation. These conditions will persist for as long as 24 hours. At the highest elevations, above 4,000 ft., over 2 feet of heavy, wet snow is expected to pile up. From 2,000 to 4,000 ft. snowfall will likely be in the 6 - 12 inch range. Elkins, located at 2,000 ft. is expecting up to 6 inches. Below 2,000 ft. 3 to 6 inches of snow is likely. I do not expect significant impact from snowfall however for major population centers including Charleston, WV and Pittsburgh PA where temperatures should remain warm enough to keep the precipitation in the form of wet snow and rain. Surface temperatures at those elevations are also warm enough to promote melting.

At higher elevations the combination of heavy, wet snowfall and very strong winds will be too much for trees, many which still have leaves on them. Although population density is low across this region, the threat of widespread, prolonged power outages is very high.

With all of the above being said, there is still a considerable challenge to the snowfall forecast, in particular since the temperature will be marginally cold enough to produce snowfall, especially below 2,000 ft. where most of the population resides.