Richmond braces for 8+ inches of snow

State of play: Meteorologists have "pretty high confidence" that at least moderate winter weather is heading to the region this weekend, per a briefing Tuesday by the National Weather Service in Wakefield.

• They also said there's "pretty high" probability that the region could see major impacts from the storm.

❄️ By the numbers: It's still a little early to predict snowfall totals for Richmond, but the models are showing some snow total probabilities, NWS meteorologist Allison Mitchell said at the briefing.

• For 8+ inches, there's a 70% chance.
• For 12+ inches, there's a 56% chance.
• A safe bet: 5–6 inches.

What they're saying: "There's still a lot of time for things to shift," Mitchell said.

Timeline: The snow is likely to start Saturday afternoon or early evening and continue through Sunday night.

• There could be a brief period of snow on Friday, but that's looking less likely, per the briefing.

Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to stay below freezing for most of the week and through early next week, meaning however many inches we get, it could stick around for awhile.

The bottom line: Richmonders should hope for the best and prepare for the worst. And if you're the parent of a school-aged kid, we're sorry.