Winter storm watch begins Monday; expect up to 12 inches of snow by Tuesday night

Staff Report

VIENNA

The National Weather Service has issued a winter-storm watch.for Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties in Ohio and Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsyvania fromMonday night until Wednesday morning.

Snow will begin to spread into the area monday evening along a warm front. Snowfall accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are possible by Tuesday morning in the first surge of snow.

The NWS says the intensity of the snow will diminish Tuesday afternoon. A stronger storm system will approach the region later Tuesday afternoon and spread a second surge of snow into the region Tuesday night.

Additional snow accumulations of 6 to 8 inches are possible Tuesday night. The snow is expected to become mixed with Sleet and freezing rain Tuesday night and then possibly change over to all rain by Wednesday morning. The rain will continue Wednesday morning and change back to all snow Wednesday afternoon.

The Mahoning Valley has received 83.5 inches of snowfall since last Dec. 1, ranking this winter season among the most snowy winters on record, according to the National Weather Service. The average snowfall for December and January is 25.7 inches, according to weather service data.