Significant Snowfall Possible Friday (1/22/2016)

NOTE: This blog post is pertaining to a winter storm forecast for Friday, January 22, 2016.

Weather Update - 4:20 p.m. Wednesday

A WINTER STORM WATCH has been issued for all of West Tennessee from midnight Thursday night (12 a.m. Friday) until 6 p.m. Friday evening. A Winter Storm watch means there is a potential for significant snow, sleet, or ice accumulations that may impact travel.

 

Temperatures have barely reached the freezing mark again in West Tennessee. Jackson's high temperature for the day, so far, has been at 34°F. Cloudy skies will stick around and the lack of warm weather will keep some of the snow and ice in place that fell across parts of northwest Tennessee. Some school closures or delays will be possible there on Thursday. Rain will begin moving into West Tennessee throughout the day on Thursday with a change over to snow taking place early Friday morning.

Tonight, temperatures will drop to the upper 20s and low 30s under cloudy skies and light northeast winds. We'll remain rain-free until scattered showers start Thursday morning advancing from south to north throughout the morning and afternoon. Some of these showers may begin initially as freezing rain but change over to rain as relatively warmer air moves in.

Sometime around sunrise on Friday morning, rain will change over to snow. The time this takes place for your area will depend on where in West Tennessee you are. It looks right now like areas near the Mississippi River will see the change before sunrise, but areas near the Tennessee River may not see the change until the later hours of the morning. By lunchtime, there should only be snow falling in West Tennessee. Snow showers will become more scattered and lighter by the later hours of the afternoon and early evening.

Accumulation could be significant on Friday. Pay attention to updates to forecast snowfall as this forecast is subject to change. With temperatures staying below freezing for the start of the weekend, we may not see significant melting take place until Sunday.

KEY POINTS:

1. The forecast could still change to show higher amounts or lower amounts of snow forecast for the area. This is a very difficult forecast with a lot of unknowns still.
2. Be prepared for school closures on Friday.
3. Expect the snow to stick around into the weekend.
4. The forecast amount of snow could still chance, yes I'm repeating this so you hear it :)

Stay tuned to the latest forecast from the VIPIR 7 Storm Team for the latest updates!

Tom Meiners
Storm Team 7 Chief Meteorologist, CBM
Twitter - @WBBJ7TomMeiners
Facebook - facebook.com/WBBJ.tom.meiners
Email - tmeiners@wbbjtv.com

Snow and Ice Early Wednesday

A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for all 21 counties of West Tennessee through Wednesday morning. Snow, sleet, and freezing rain are expected to begin moving in the region before sunrise tomorrow before we transition to rain and a wintry mix by lunchtime. Travel could be hazardous in spots and though it won't be impossible, caution is still strongly advised if you have to go out tomorrow. It's possible that some schools may close or delay their opening due to the weather.

 

Tonight, skies will remain cloudy with temperatures hovering just under freezing even at the coldest point of the night. After midnight, a snow and sleet mix will begin moving into northwest Tennessee with the wintry mix taking over much of the area by 6am. This is going to be a difficult forecast because we may only see rain with some freezing rain mixed in near the Tennessee-Mississippi border, but near the Tennessee-Kentucky border, we may see only snow fall. Every form of winter precipitation is going to be possible in between.

 

All things considered, travel could be difficult tomorrow, but not impossible. After noon, above freezing temperatures will lead to any accumulations of snow and ice to start melting. Temperatures will reach the mid to upper 30s and low 40s by the afternoon. We'll get a brief break from the wintry mix before rain returns on Thursday afternoon and evening before changing to all snow on Friday morning. It's possible that we once again have accumulation, but this time mainly from snow, ice does not look as likely this time. 

Stay with the VIPIR 7 Storm Team for future updates to this forecast!

Flood and Damaging Wind Threat Tonight

NOTE: This blog post is pertaining to a flooding and damaging wind threat forecast for tonight, the night of Tuesday, November 17, 2015.

An area of low pressure is forcing colder air through the Central and Southern Plains today creating a wide band of showers and thunderstorms that stretch from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast. Windy and wet weather are forecast for all of West Tennessee tonight and will last through Wednesday morning. This was a look at the VIPIR 7 Dopplar Radar at 2:17 this afternoon.

There's a slight risk (2 out of 5 chance) for thunderstorms to become severe in southwest Tennessee tonight posing a threat for localized damaging winds. There's also a low threat for tornadoes which seems to be an event more likely to take shape farther to the south and west of West Tennessee.

The band of heavy rain currently pushing through Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri will arrive in the western-most counties of West Tennessee between 9pm and midnight tonight. This band of rain will be moving through the area for a duration of 12 hours, so the slow progression of heavy rain will create a risk for flash flooding - especially in low lying areas with poor drainage.

The winds will be strongest before the rain arrives. A Wind Advisory is in effect for all of West Tennessee tonight into tomorrow morning. Wind gusts will generally be between 30 and 40 mph but could be as high as 50 mph in some spots outside of any thunderstorms.

When the rain arrives, the winds may actually calm down some, but any thunderstorms that become severe could result in wind gusts over 60 mph. The area most likely to see that occur will be in the counties of West Tennessee that border Mississippi and areas south of the TN-MS border.

When the rain is finally over Wednesday morning, we'll be left with an additional 1"-3" of rain on the ground added to the rain most people saw last night. Keep an eye out for flooded roadways on the morning commute, and always remember to find a safer route to your destination if you happen come upon one.

Be safe and keep an eye out for more updates from the VIPIR 7 Storm Team.