Winter Storm Arrives in Area

A winter storm that could dump several inches of snow on parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia began affecting the region late Friday night and is expected to continue through most of Saturday.

Winter storm warnings remain in effect through 6 p.m. Saturday for western and northern Maryland, the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and parts of West Virginia. The warning covers the following counties:

Maryland

Frederick County

Carroll County

Washington County

Extreme Western Allegany County

Central and Eastern Allegany County

Virginia

Madison County

Rappahannock County

Loudoun County

Northern Fauquier County

Shenandoah County

Frederick County

Page County

Warren County

Clarke County

West Virginia

Hampshire County

Morgan County

Berkeley County

Jefferson County

Hardy County

Western Grant County

Eastern Grant County

Western Mineral County

Eastern Mineral County

In addition, the following areas are under a winter weather advisory until 8 p.m. Saturday:

Maryland

Howard County

Montgomery County

Virginia

Fairfax County

Prince William County

Southern Fauquier County

The latest forecast calls for between 4 and 6 inches of snow to fall in Frederick, Carroll, Madison, Rappahannock, and Northern Fauquier Counties, with 6 to 10 inches expected to fall in the other counties covered by the winter storm warning.

It is expected that a mixture of snow and rain will fall throughout the morning and change to snow during the course of Saturday afternoon. According to News4 meteorologist Chuck Bell, much of the significant snow and rain should remain to the north and northwest of the Beltway.

Those in the areas affected by this storm should prepare for possible power outages and significant travel disruptions and are urged not to travel unless it is absolutely necessary.

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