Threat for Severe Weather Tonight and Saturday, February 23rd

NOTE: This blog post is pertaining to the severe weather risk for the evening of FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd through SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd.

UPDATE - 1:30pm Friday, February 22nd, 2019

Flash flooding remains the primary severe weather threat for West Tennessee with heavy rain off-and-on through Saturday evening. Strong thunderstorms will be possible tonight and again Saturday afternoon and evening.

SUMMARY 

• Heavy rain will move through West Tennessee overnight continuing the threat for flash flooding and adding a potential for strong thunderstorms that could produce large hail
• Any rain that occurs late tomorrow morning or early in the afternoon could knock down the energy in the atmosphere lowering the risk for severe weather
• If there is a lot of energy in the atmosphere, then West Tennessee could see flash flooding and damaging winds occur with a secondary concern for large hail and a few tornadoes
• The main threat for severe weather in West Tennessee starts Saturday afternoon and evening takes place between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. starting near the Mississippi River in the afternoon and ending by the Tennessee River in the early evening

I'll have the latest forecast live on WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News at 5:00pm and 6:00pm on ABC and at 5:30pm and 6:30pm on CBS. I'll be back with another update on both networks at 10:00pm.

wbbjtv.com/live

How to Spot Comet 46P/Wirtanen in the Sky Sunday (December 16th) Night!

Tonight, when looking up into the night sky, we'll be able to see one of the 10 closest approaches a comet has made to earth since the year was still being counted with three digits. While binoculars will make it easier to see, you don't necessarily need a telescope, and some of us may be able to see it unaided by lenses.

Preferably, you'll want to go somewhere especially dark and far from light pollution. It would be best if you ventured outside the city for this one. It doesn't need to be especially late either, just dark! This link has a way to find out where there is the least amount of light pollution near you. Make sure to give your eyes time to adjust to the darkness first before giving up!

This comet has been racing toward earth at a staggering 21,600 miles per hour. At it's closest distance to our blue planet, it will still be 7.1 million miles away from us - roughly 30 times the distance between the earth and the moon. So here's what we're looking for: we’ll be looking for a large, diffuse, dim object. Use this image as an example. We won't see the tail!

If you're a constellation buff, you'll be looking for the constellation "Taurus" to get your eyes close to where Wirtanen is located (there are some free apps online and available for download on smartphones for this). If you won't be using constellations for help, look towards the east first, and then gradually draw your gaze up until you're nearly looking straight up above. Here's an interactive sky chart to show where to look.

Now unfortunately, a dense fog advisory has been issued for the area. It's possible that fog may limit visibility in some spots, but mostly later at night more than in the earlier evening. Best of luck, skywatchers! If we can't spot this, hopefully we'll have better viewing conditions in a month when we have a lunar eclipse!

Potential for Rain, Ice, and Snow This Weekend (December 8th-9th)

This blog post is pertaining to the chance for accumulating snow and ice from SATURDAY, December 8th to SUNDAY, December 9th, 2018.

UPDATE - 1:30pm THURSDAY, December 6th, 2018

Accumulating snow and ice has been consistently in the forecast for West Tennessee (specifically northwest Tennessee) from Saturday through Sunday and even a bit on Monday. Here's a short summary of this 4 minute and 4 second video.

SUMMARY 

• A Winter Weather Advisory may be issued for West Tennessee north of I-40
• The best chance for snow and ice will be north of I-40
• Wintry weather will begin to occur on Saturday, but most of our viewers may not experience it until Sunday
• Impacts to church schedules for Sunday services and school schedules on Monday are likely

Watch WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News at 5:00pm for the forecast totals!

wbbjtv.com/live