Winter Storm Watch -- Thursday Afternoon Through Friday

NWS Albany has come around on the storm and is now expecting snow-day-worthy snow totals.

Here are few updates about the impending storm and (hopefully) snow day:

*NWS Albany announced a Winter Storm Watch in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. The Watch calls for a chance of 6+ inches of snow in addition to sleet starting at 4 PM Thursday and ending Friday afternoon.

*We've seen ice forecasts between .1 and .25 of sleet and up to .33 of freezing rain. Sleet will make for terrible driving conditions, and a third of an inch of freezing rain could really cause more serious problems. Never discount the danger of ice.

*The models are starting to come into agreement, and it looks like enough cold air will be in place for plenty of ice and snow for the entire county. To paraphrase chief meteorologist Bernie Rayno, in the battle between cold air and warm air, cold air always wins.

*This storm actually begins tonight. Rain should start after midnight, and then we're all just going to be watching the thermometer to see when the mercury will drop to 32℉. The sooner that happens, the better our chances for a snow day.

*We'll be surprised if many students have school on Friday. North County schools should have a three-day weekend. If the transition doesn't happen fast enough in the farthest reaches of South County, a district might decide to have school. But given the sleet/ice/snow forecast, districts may cancel out of an abundance of caution even if it's still raining between 5 and 6 AM.

This is a nasty-looking map for 6 AM on Friday. The orange is freezing rain; the purple is sleet. If it comes true, no one will want to be on the roads at that time.