Weather forecast includes sleet, ice

It may be tough going for commuters this morning as a winter storm is expected to bring up to 1 to 2 tenths of an inch of ice to the area.

Monday the National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for Prince William, Manassas and Manassas Park, which was to be in effect between 6 a.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. Wednesday.

This is the first winter weather advisory of the New Year, and with it could bring a day full of winter weather.

Heavy sleet was expected to fall across the area early, with freezing rain persisting throughout the day and into the night, said Calvin Meadows, National Weather Service forecaster.

By Wednesday Meadows said temperatures should be warm enough to where the frozen precipitation would turn to all rain.

While residents won't face the proverbial "wintry mix" of precipitation Tuesday, it will be freezing rain and sleet that could cause most of the problems, Meadows said.

Freezing rain is precipitation that falls as rain and then freezes on the surface.

There will be potential to see large ice pellets, or sleet, as there is so much warm air above aloft, Meadows said.

The sleet that does fall will start as ice and then melt as it falls, and then refreeze before hitting the ground.

The weather service originally issued a winter storm watch Monday morning, which included Stafford County, but dropped it later yesterday afternoon.

Since the Northern Virginia area is often on the freeze line of rain and winter precipitation, it can often be difficult to forecast what the driving conditions will be in the region, said Lon Anderson, AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman.

"We may have ice on our roads in parts of our region, and nobody can drive safely on ice," said Anderson. "Driving on icy roads can quickly turn the commute into a driving nightmare."

The motor club urges drivers not to venture out on the road if conditions become treacherous.

But if they must drive, he reminds them to keep a full tank of gas, clear the ice from the windshield before driving and to slow down and increase their following distance, Anderson said.

This latest storm comes just 13 years to the date of the Blizzard of 1996. That storm dumped more than 20 inches on the Washington area.

Snow started to fall the night of Jan. 6, 1996 and continued on into the afternoon hours of Jan. 7, according to the book "Washington Weather."

By the time the snow had let up more than 13 inches had fallen across the area.

Later that night the snow bands redeveloped, coming this time with thunder and lightening and whiteout conditions—with winds topping more than 40 mph, according to the book.

By the morning of Jan. 8 the National Capital Area was buried under more than 25 inches of snow, in most places.

After the blizzard two more snow storms dropped nearly 16 more inches of snow across the region later that week.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.