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Snow, freezing rain, rain? AccuWeather has your Christmas forecast

Crystal Graham
winter weather
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The long-term forecast for later this week has changed hour to hour over the last few days, but as we get closer to the Christmas weekend, it seems that meteorologists now have a better idea of what to expect.

Will it be 7-11” of snow as originally predicted or more like 1.5” of rain?

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Thomas Kines said it’s somewhere in between.

Kines said that the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia will have to deal with freezing rain Thursday morning. However, the temperatures should rise above freezing Thursday afternoon.

Rain is likely to continue Thursday night, he said, and it could be heavy at times.

The heavy rain and potential freezing rain has AccuWeather experts listing the entire state under poor travel conditions for Thursday.

“As the storm pulls away Friday, much colder air will arrive, and the rain might end briefly as snow around sunrise Friday.”

Temperatures Friday will fall into the 20s.

The weekend forecast can be best described as cold. Nighttime temperatures will fall to around 10 degrees with afternoon temperatures in the 20s. However, Kines said, the wind will make it feel 10-20 degrees colder.

“For those hoping for a white Christmas, it doesn’t look good,” he said.

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Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is the regional editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of Virginia Tonight, a nightly TV news show. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television.