Winter Storm — Somerset, Maryland

2025-01-06 · Somerset, Maryland

Event narrative

Snowfall totals generally ranged from 3.5 to 4 inches across the county. A snowfall total of 4 inches was reported 2 miles (SSW) from Princess Anne. Snow changed over to a wintry mix with at least light freezing rain likely occurring. However, no specific freezing rain total was reported.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure moved from the Southern Plains into the Mississippi Valley on January 5 before occluding in the southern Appalachians on the morning of January 6. Meanwhile, a secondary low formed across northern Georgia on the morning of January 6 and tracked northeast through eastern North Carolina and out to sea. This Miller B setup resulted in warm air advection aloft from 850 to 500mb which lifted north across Virginia and into Maryland. The dry air at the surface was overcome after midnight early on January 6 as snow overspread the lower Maryland Eastern Shore. Heavy snow fell January 6, particularly across Dorchester, Wicomico, and northern Worcester where over 1 inch per hour rates occurred at times. The warm air advection continued to lift north across Maryland during the morning of January 6 to around midday before stalling. This allowed for a changeover to mixed precipitation across the remainder of the lower Maryland Eastern Shore with precipitation remaining mostly snow across northern Dorchester, northern Wicomico, and northern Worcester through the day. A break in the precipitation occurred during the afternoon of January 6 before an upper level feature tracked across the region during the evening, resulting in a final round of light to moderate snow. This snow resulted in an additional 0.5 to 2 inches of snow across the Maryland Eastern Shore as temperatures dropped back into the upper 20s. Storm total snowfall ranged from 3 to 6 inches across Somerset, southern Worcester, and southern Wicomico to 7 to 10 inches across Dorchester, northern Wicomico, and northern Worcester.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1231967. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.