A spring snowstorm is expected to hit the region this weekend. A forecaster at the National Weather Service (NWS) in Wilmington says no matter how much snow falls, it won't stick around long.
NWS Meteorologist Kristen Cassady says as of Friday afternoon, the exact path of the storm wasn't clear, but she's expecting a couple of inches. Most of that will fall late Saturday morning into the afternoon.
"The latest data has suggested that there may be a little bit more of a southern shift to the precipitation, which would mean less snowfall for locations north and east of the (Cincinnati) metro area than was previously expected," Cassady says.
She says much of the snow that does fall will probably melt. "We're getting sunshine (Friday), temperatures close to 50, that's going to help the ground warm up a little bit. What might actually happen even (Saturday) morning with air temperatures around freezing, the ground is going to be a little bit warmer, so as the snow falls, you might have melting as soon as it starts to accumulate."
The sun's position in the sky has a lot to do with it too. Cassady says the warming of the atmosphere in spring is due less to the longer days and more to the angle of the light. "Our sun angle tomorrow is going to be similar to what we might expect in mid-September. You wouldn't see snow in mid-September. The higher sun angle is going to allow the ground to absorb warmth a little bit more efficiently than if we were in January," Cassady says.
"What you might end up getting is a lot of snow falling but not as much accumulating as you might expect."
Cassady says the forecast for Sunday is sunny with highs in the 40s, melting a lot of whatever snow remains. She says this snow event could be "winter's last hurrah" with a warmer pattern for the next week.
