A significant winter storm is expected to hit the First State over the weekend.
The snow is set to start as early as 8 pm Saturday in Sussex County with most of the snow in the rest of the state holding off until after midnight.
The snow will continue Sunday, then change to a wintry mix, and that changeover could bring lesser snow totals according to Meteorologist Amanda Lee.
"The latest forecast totals are generally between 8 to 12 inches for the whole state which is maybe a little bit lower,” said Lee. “That's because we're more focused on now, it's potential for that mixed precipitation with the ice sleet and freezing rain, mixing in later in the event on top of the snow."
Some light snow might come at the end of the storm before the precipitation moves out late Sunday/early Monday.
But Lee says the real issues can start once the wintry mix hits Delaware.
"Even if there's a little bit less snow and we end up with more ice, there's going to be the potential for still very hazardous travel conditions, very slick roads and then potential, if we get significant accumulations of ice closer to the quarter inch range, then that increases the potential for power outages, with ice accumulating on power lines and on trees," said Lee.
The snow and wintry mix will be sandwiched by bitterly cold temperatures, and the cold on the back end means any snow that falls will stick around for a while.
Lee notes temperatures are not expected to rise above freezing through the next week.
