We may have dodged the snow that is falling today just to our northeast. But it does not look like we will dodge the high winds being generated by the same powerful storm.

UPDATE: 9 p.m.: Light snow and blustery winds on the WeatherDeck in Cockeysville. And cold - 31 degrees.

The National Weather Service has posted High Wind Watches through Friday afternoon across Maryland west of the Chesapeake. They say we can expect sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph, gusting as high as 60 mph overnight tonight into Friday. They say:

"WINDS THIS STRONG WILL CAUSE DANGEROUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS...AND
MAY KNOCK DOWN TREES AND POWER LINES.

"PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A HIGH WIND WATCH MEANS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A HAZARDOUS HIGH WIND EVENT. SUSTAINED WINDS OF AT LEAST 40 MPH...OR GUSTS OF 58 MPH OR STRONGER MAY OCCUR. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST
FORECASTS"

UPDATE: BGE officials said they are preparing to respond to widespread power outages. But customers who find themselves in the dark may have to wait longer than they would like to have their power restored:

"We do not expect the impact of this storm to be as severe as what we experienced during this month's back-to-back blizzards. However, customers are reminded that when the wind exceeds 25 mph, it is usually unsafe to use bucket trucks so restoration work requiring those vehicles could be delayed until conditions improve."

The winds are the consequence of the deepening low pressure to our east, and later northeast, as this new coastal storm intensifies and pounds New England (AP photo, left) and New York with heavy snow, heavy rain, high winds, battering seas and coastal flooding. Check out this forecast for Boston, with stormy weather right through the weekend.

Philadelphia is getting snow this morning, too, with forecasts of 8 to 15 inches by Friday. A slight shift in the storm's path might have visited that snow on Central Maryland.

UPDATE  1 p.m.: The NWS has replaced Winter Storm Watches with Winter Weather Advisories for Carroll, Baltimore, Harford and (now) Anne Arundel Counties, plus the city. They call for 1 to 2 inches of accumulating snow late today, and 1 to 2 more overnight as we feel the backlash from this storm. That will mean lots of snow blowing around in the high winds. Wind speeds are picking up this afternoon, the barometer is falling, and temperatures may have topped out. Be careful out there tonight.

UPDATED UPDATE 4 p.m.: The Winter Weather Advisories now call for just 1 to 3 inches of snow tonight across the region as temperatures drop into the 20s.

Cecil County, meanwhile, along with much of the Eastern Shore, remains under a Winter Storm Warning, with 4 to 8 inches due in Cecil, and Dover, Del., but lesser amounts farther south on the Delmarva peninsula.

UPDATE 4 p.m.: The Warning for Cecil now calls for 6 to 12 inches there. Forecasters told us days ago there would be a sharp snow gradient somewhere in the region. I guess this suggests where it is. A little hard to grasp as we sit here in Baltimore amid afternoon sunshine and 40-degree temperatures.

The forecast discussion from Sterling provides a pretty thorough primer on what's going on.

Eric the Red shared this observation with me this morning as the predicted morning snowfall here proved a no-show:

"It was one of those storms that you just couldn't ignore and hope it didn't happen. I am a firm believer ... that is is much worse to keep quiet and have something happen, than to tell of a storm and have it miss. It really is a safety issue as much as anything."

Amen.