This afternoon, a pocket of warmer air from the south is moving up and over top the colder, freezing air in place over the area. That means that in the upper levels of the atmosphere, precipitation that would be falling as snow is melting as it encounters the warm air. If the air underneath that pocket of warm air is cold enough, the former snowflake will re-freeze into an ice pellet and we will get sleet. However, if the air is not cold enough to refreeze that former snowflake, and the freezing air is shallow and just very close to the ground, freezing rain will fall and leave a glaze of smooth ice on roads, trees and powerlines.

So, the potential is there for several inches of snow from this morning and well into afternoon before that warmer air arrives. A mixture of sleet and freezing rain could be falling for several hours tonight before transitioning back to snow tonight. Any spot getting a ¼" or larger glaze of ice is at risk for tree limbs breaking and power failures.

That is what happened here February 10-11, 1983: a powerful storm moved into the area and dumped heavy rain and snow through the state. Snow fell fast and hard into Lynchburg, dumping 14.6 inches in 24 hours. Roanoke got 18.6" from that powerful storm. Thundersnow was heard in many locations as that storm tore through the Mid-Atlantic.