(From the Maryland Weather blog)

The National Weather Service has extended the Winter Storm Watch to all of Maryland except for the Lower Eastern Shore, with the possibility for 5 inches of snow or more. Garrett County, in far Western Maryland, could see 6 or more.

The National Weather Service has nudged its predictions upward again, and Eric the Red is looking for 4 to 10 inches ... and a chance for thundersnow!

The predictions on the new snow forecast map out of Sterling have also been bumped upward again by the computers, forecasting 7 inches north and west of Baltimore and Washington.

Earlier today, the Watch included only the western counties, plus Frederick, Montgomery, Carroll, northern Baltimore and Harford counties. Now Baltimore City and points south are included. Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia are under a similar watch.

The Watch is in effect from Wednesday afternoon until late Wednesday night. The storm is still expected to bring a mix of wintry precipitation, with intervals of snow, rain, sleet and freezing rain during the day. But it's expected to end with a snowy flourish around Baltimore beginning in the late afternoon and evening.

Here's how Eric the Red is putting it this afternoon: "...the potential for a period of very heavy snow just in time for the eve commute. This looks like a wet snow... which may keep accumulations down... but I think it's time to go 4 to 10" in the metro area and points west and north... I should note that it would be very, very wise to think about getting home early tomorrow. I can not stress how intense the snowfall rates may be during the pm commute. If the models are right, and you go with a conservative solution ... then you're staring at 1 to 3" per hour for 4 to 8 hours. The precip will start to flare up ~ 1 pm or so."