Depending on your attitude toward winter weather, we have news that’s either exciting or concerning. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for most of the D.C. region — absent some counties in Southern Maryland — starting in the wee hours of Thursday morning and heading into Friday.

The winter storm warning— which is pretty serious on the “how serious is this” scale — is active from 3 a.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday.

The Weather Service predicts around 3 to 6 inches of snow to accumulate in the area. At some points in the day, the snowfall rates could reach 1 to 2 inches per hour.

Commuters be warned: The Weather Service expects the snow to shift to a mix of sleet and freezing rain in the late morning and early afternoon — accumulating up to a quarter inch of ice along the I-95 corridor. Visibility could be reduced to a quarter mile at a time.

https://twitter.com/NWS_BaltWash/status/1362057234608316416

The ice is likely to cause power outages and tree damage, per the Weather Service, and travel could be nearly impossible.”

The Weather Service advises those who must travel to keep an extra flashlight, food, and water, in their cars to prepare for an emergency.

2021 is proving to be the year snow returns to the region. This week will likely mark the third notable snowfall since the beginning of January — a definite increase from last year’s relatively tepid weather. It remains to be seen whether the alpacas will come out like they did two weeks ago.