A very snowy January for the D.C. region is about get snowier.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for D.C. and the surrounding Northern Virginia and Maryland suburbs starting at 6 a.m. Thursday, as a few inches of snow are expected to fall on the region. With the snow slated to begin during the morning commute, the advisory warns residents of hazardous road conditions.

And if the balmy temperatures that preceded our first big storm of the year (the one that left hundreds of drivers stranded for 24 hours on I-95) are any sign, the forecast could likely…stick. Wednesday’s highs crept into the 50s.

https://twitter.com/capitalweather/status/1483896356024500232

Thursday’s snowfall would mark the fourth bout of snowfall this month — welcome news for wintery-percipitation-starved Washingtonians, after the past two winters in the D.C. area passed with below-average snowfall. Already in 2022, D.C. has received 12.1 inches of snow — more than double the average for January and the most since January 2016, when Snowzilla dumped nearly 18 inches on the city.

Precipitation will begin on Wednesday night, and transition into snow between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., with the heaviest snowfall likely curring between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., inconveniently coinciding with commuting hours. Virginia’s Department of Transportation started to prep I-95 on Wednesday, and officials are warning residents to avoid nonessential travel Thursday morning. As VDOT’s Northern Virginia branch put it: “Keep monitoring the forecast pls.” 

According to Capital Weather Gang, the ground might be too warm for the flakes to stick at first, but icy conditions may emerge through the morning as temperatures dip. Their prediction has D.C. likely receiving between one to two inches of accumulation. (And it should be a wet snow from the rain, perfect for snowballs.)