Warm & Nice Again on Tuesday, Rain Likely Wednesday, Wintry Mix Expected Thursday!

Monday Night Forecast Update for January 31st:

Temperatures warmed up to around 60° on Monday and will be warmer on Tuesday. A big storm system will impact the mid south Wednesday – Friday. As of now, some freezing rain and a wintry mix will move in at times on Thursday but heavy rain will be the main impact for most of West Tennessee. The further to the north and west of Jackson you are, the greater chance for you to be impacted from ice concerns as the system moves in. The next winter storm is going to pack quite the punch. Up to a foot of snow & up to an inch of ice is possible across sections of the Midwest. Impacts will be less here in West Tennessee, but freezing rain and ice will move into our area on Thursday and travel could become treacherous. The storm impacts will be greatest north of I-40, but some areas south of I-40 could also see some ice mixing in by Thursday afternoon. We will be watching the situation very closely all week in the Storm Team Weather Center and will have the latest up to the minute forecast details right here.

TONIGHT:

Mostly clear skies and calm winds are expected for the first night of February across West Tennessee. It should be a very mild late January/ early February night with lows falling down to only around 40°.

TUESDAY:

Tuesday should start out mostly sunny but clouds will be increasing towards the back half of the day. Highs should be warmer on Tuesday then they were on Monday with most of West Tennessee reaching the low to mid 60s. The winds will be a bit breezy at times and come out of the south. Showers could return late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning and overnight lows are expected to drop only into the upper 40s Tuesday night.

WEDNESDAY:

Cloudy skies and breezy conditions are likely all day on Wednesday. Rain showers are expected to show up early and stick around at times during the day. A few rumbles of thunder could mix in with some of the heavier bands of rain, but strong storms or severe weather chances look very low as of now. Highs will make it into the mid 50s on Wednesday and the winds will stay out of the south all day.

THURSDAY:

Rain showers will continue to come down during the first half of the day on Thursday. Behind the cold front, periods of freezing rain, sleet, ice and even some light snow could mix in. The amounts of winter type precipitation we see across West Tennessee will depend on the location of the system as well as the timing of the cold front and when it might pass by our region. The areas most likely to pick up ice accumulations and major impacts from the system will be areas to the north and west of Madison county. If the projected forecast patch changes even as little of an amount of 50-75 miles, we could get hammered in Jackson as well with the ice. So we will be watching the system very closely as it gets closer to our area this week in the Storm Team 7 Weather Center. You need to monitor the forecast as well this week as this has the potential of being a major winter storm for us. Thursday night lows should fall back down into the 20s again.

FRIDAY:

Friday morning will start out cold in the 20s. Depending on how slowly the system moves out on Thursday, we could see a wintry mix or light snow showers lingering into the early morning hours on Friday. Highs on Friday will be cold and only be reaching the low to mid 30s. The clouds should clear out into the afternoon and evening hours on Friday, but that will lead to a very cold night on Friday. We could see temperatures fall back down to the low to mid teens on Saturday morning.

FINAL THOUGHT:

Winter has officially started here in West Tennessee and we currently could see more rounds of winter precipitation in the coming weeks.  There could be more chances for severe weather though too as we get going into 2022. So you need to stay weather aware to changing weather patterns and monitor the forecasts closely. We got you covered in the WBBJ 7 Storm Team Weather Center as always.

For tips on preparing for the storms, click here. To download the WBBJ 7 Weather app, click here.

Storm Team Chief Meteorologist
Joel Barnes
Facebook: @JoelBarnesWeather
Twitter: @JoelBarnes13
Instagram: @joelbarnes13