ANNAPOLIS, Md. — While many burrowed indoors the third week of November as extreme record-breaking cold impinged upon life across the Mid-Atlantic, the snow machines at Wisp Ski Resort were busy whirring and churning out a base layer of snow for the upcoming winter.
The third week of November is the earliest the ski resort has started making snow in the past five years, said Lori Zaloga, director of marketing for Wisp, in McHenry, Maryland.
Climate scientists are pretty sure of one thing: This winter, the weather could vary. A lot.
The slight snowfall that glided over most of Maryland and portions of northern Virginia late Tuesday into Wednesday morning was a prime example.
The strong cold front that enabled the changeover from rain to snow was the result of an amplified, S-shaped jet stream that dipped through the eastern U.S., said Stephen Baxter, winter weather lead at the national Climate Prediction Center.
While this swing in weather from mild to frosty was predicted by one type of model through the Christmas holiday, another model indicates milder weather from now until Santa hitches up the sleigh.
There is the chance for another wintry mix on Monday, although once again the varying temperatures make it hard to say whether the region will receive freezing rain, sleet, or snow from the holiday grab bag of precipitation.
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