Snow & Bitter Cold Coming Thursday Evening!

Wednesday Evening Forecast Update

December 21, 2022

Storm Team Weather,

Wednesday Evening Forecast Update for December 21st:

A wind chill warning and a winter weather advisory have been issued for all of West Tennessee. Feels like temperatures will plummet Thursday evening well below zero with wind chills between -15 & -20° Friday morning. Snow showers are likely with accumulations totals of 1/2″ to 3″ with the highest amounts north of I-40. Travel will be very difficult with icy roads and blowing snow bringing near ground blizzard like conditions along the roadways. Please limit travel to emergencies only from Thursday evening through Friday morning. The front will move through Jackson Between 4-5 PM and the snow will fall as early as 4 PM and as late as 9 PM! Be safe folks as blowing snow will continue most of the day on Friday! We will have the latest forecast details coming up here.

May be an image of map, sky and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv.com FRIGID! St. Louis Springfield RAIN WILL QUICKLY το TURN TO THE NEXT 48 HOURS A BRIEF WINTRY MIX BETWEEN Thursday 3:40 PM 3-5PM BEFORE TURNING OVER ALL SNOW BETWEEN 5-10PM 1-3" OF SNOW IN JACKSON! Levinaton FUTURECAST HRRR THU 5:00 PM RAIN Jackson Little Rock MIXED SNOW 16° verubura 21° 19° 24° Camden 28° Huntingdon 22° 26° Birmingham 24° Brownsvill 26° Cavinnton 24° Jackson Jackson 29° Lexington 43° 4.3° Memphis 25° 33° 26° Bollvar 30° avannah 45° 45°'

If you are traveling to the west or north we recommend you do it on Wednesday or early Thursday morning as snow could start to cross the Mississippi River by 3 pm. Travel will be very difficult Thursday evening through Friday morning across West Tennessee. If you are traveling south or east, you can get out as late as 5 PM Thursday and most likely avoid the storm. We will have the latest forecast details and everything else you need to know coming up here.

A wind chill warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for all of West Tennessee.

May be an image of map and text that says 'WIND CHILL WARNING! THURSDAY 6PM THROUGH FRIDAY NOON STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv com WIND CHILLS Feels like -15 to -20° Ridgely Union City Martin Paris Dyersburg Trenton FROSTBITE In as little as 30 mins Covington Brownsville Jackson Camden Huntingdon ipley Alamo Lexington Parsons Henderson Memphis Somerville Bolivar Selmer Savannah'

Dangerously cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 15 below zero. For the Winter Weather Advisory, snow expected. Total snow accumulations less than one inch. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph. Also, a Winter Weather Advisory has been issued as well by the National Weather Service for all of West Tennessee. Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. The cold wind chills could result in hypothermia if precautions are not taken. Flash freezes may occur as cold air quickly builds in over wet ground. This may result in hazardous travel conditions.

May be an image of map and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv com WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THURSDAY 3PM UNTIL MIDNIGHT Ridgely Union City Martin Snow Likely EXTREME Cold & Difficult Travel Paris Dyersburg Trenton Ripley Camden Huntingdon Alamo Parsons Covington Brownsville Jackson Lexington Henderson Memphis Somerville Bolivar Selmer Savannah'

Now is a good time to catch up on your winter weather driving safety tips if you plan on traveling or might out running errands from Thursday evening through the Christmas weekend. Here are a few basic tips and reminders.

TONIGHT:

Wednesday was a few degrees warmer than Tuesday with highs in the low 50s. We will see increasing clouds late and cloudy skies by the morning. Wednesday night lows will be a bit warmer due to the increase in clouds as well as a late shift in the winds back to the southwest. It could become breezy overnight as well with lows falling down in the low to mid 40s.

THURSDAY:

An historic storm system looks to be targeting West Tennessee on Thursday. Highs will reach up to around 50° in the afternoon before falling all the way down to around 1° by sunrise Friday morning.

May be an image of map and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv.com com STORM TEAM 7 WEATHER FUTURECAST THU 12:00 PM RAIN Ridgely 46° City 46° MIXED Martin 45° SNOW Paris 45° Dyersburg 46° STORM TEAM 7 WEATHER FRI 8:00 AM RAIN Camden 46° Huntingdon 45° Trenton 46° Alamo 46° 45° Brownsville 45° MIXED Covington 45° SNOW 46° Jackson 45° Henderson 46° Parsons 46° Memphis 45° Somerville 43° 0° Bolivar 43° Covington 2 Lexington Selmer 46° Savannah 46° 1° Hendersen Semerville Selmat TEMPERATURES WILL DROP 40° FROM 3-11PM TOMORROW ACROSS WEST TENNESSEE BEHIND THE FRONT'

Showers will start in the late afternoon and transition from rain, to a brief wintry mix around sunset. The wintry mix will be brief and snow showers should start sometime between 4 PM and 6 pm in Jackson.

We could end up with 3 inches of snow or could get less than an inch in Jackson. The bigger concern from this system may end up being the cold as the wind chill will be below zero for an extended period of time. The wind chill is forecast to be between -10 and -20° early Friday morning. We have not had a Christmas system this cold since the 1980s (1983/1989).

May be an image of map and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv.com FORECAST WIND CHILL ON THE WAY FRI 6:00 AM RAIN MIXED Union City Ridgely 19° SNOW Martin -19° Paris -20° Dyersburg 19° Trenton -18° Alamo 17° Camden -18° Ripley -18° Huntingdon -18° Covington Jackson Brownsville -17 Lexington -16° Parsons -16° Memphis Memp Henderson -17° Somerville ・16° Bolivar -16° Selmer 14° Savannah -15°'

The snow showers are forecast to move out before the sun comes up on Friday and the highest accumulations are forecast closer to Kentucky than near Mississippi due to the fact the temperatures will be colder sooner north of Jackson than south of Jackson. Forecast models are all showing some snow across West Tennessee, but snow fall forecast have ranged anywhere from 1/2″ to 4″ across the region. Here is a look at the high and low possible scenarios.

Higher forecast possibility.

May be an image of map and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv.com WBBJ 7 SNOWFALL BEST CHANCE Friday 6:00 AM 4.0" 4.3" Union City 3.4" Tiptonville Martin 3.1" Paris 3.7" Dyersburg 3.3" Trenton 2.8" Ripley 2.8" 3.1" Huntingdon Camden Alamo 2.3" 2.2" Covington Brownsville 2.3" Jackson 2.1" Lexington 2.1" Parsons THIS IS THE FORECAST MODEL CURRENTLY HAVE THE MOST CONFIDENCE IN AS FAR AS SNOW FORECAST AMOUNTS ACROSS WEST TENNESSEE FROM THURSDAY 3PM TO MIDNIGHT! 1.7" Somerville Henderson 1.4" Bolivar 1.2" Memphis 1.1" Selmer 1.2" Savannah'

Lower forecast possibility.

May be an image of text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv.com WBBJ 7 SNOW FORECAST LOWEST Friday 6:00 PM 1.9" 1.9" Union City .7" Tiptonville Martin 1.4" Paris 1.0" Dyersburg 0.7" Trenton 0.4" Alamo 0.4" Ripley 0.8" 0.7" Huntingdon Camden 0.4" Covington Brownsville 0.3" 0.3" Jackson 0.2" Lexington 0.2" Parsons 0.2" Henderson THIS IS THE FORECAST MODEL THAT IS SHOWING THE LOWEST TOTALS FROM THURSDAY'S SYSTEM. THIS IS A POSSIBLE OUTCOME BUT I AM THINKING THESE NUMBERS ARE LOW. 0.2" Somerville 0.2" Bolivar 0.4" Memphis 0.2" Selmer 0.1" Savannah'

After analyzing all the forecast data, here is a look at our WBBJ 7 Storm Team Weather current potential snow forecast across West Tennessee. This could change some as we get more forecast model guidance as the system gets closer. Overall our confidence is pretty high that this will not change much more either direction, if it does change, we are looking at a chance of an inch more or an inch less in general.

May be an image of map, sky and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbj tv. com STORM TEAM 7 SNOW FORECAST THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT 12AM SOME RAIN, LITTLE ICE 2-3" OF SNOW Union Citye Tiptonvalle Martin Paris Dyersburg Trenton Ripley Alamo Huntingdon Camden RAIN, BRIEF ICE, SNOW 1-2" OF SNOW Covington Brownsville ackson Lexington Parsons 40 Henderson Bolivar Somerville Mémphis Selmer Savannah MORE RAIN, SOME ICE 0-1" OF SNOW'

FRIDAY:

We may not set any low temperature records from the system as the low records are (-7/1989 on Thursday), (-6/1983 on Friday) and (-10/1983 on Saturday). We do have a shot at the low/max temperature record on Friday (15/1983) as the forecast high is only 13° for Friday. The wind chill will be extreme in the morning with the winds still blustery at 20-25 MPH early in the day on Friday. The clouds will move out during the morning on Friday and Friday night lows will again be cold falling down to the mid single digits. Frostbite will be a legit threat is you have exposed skin and are out in the elements for more than 15 mins on Friday, please bundle up!

Here are a few basic tips and reminders as well as clothes you should be wearing if you are planning to go out and play in the snow or taking the little ones out. Frostbite will be a legit threat so take it seriously.

May be an image of text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv.com WHAT TO WEAR! IMAGE COURTESY OF NWS EATHER Frigid Heavy Jacket and Accessories! A hat. A scarf or knit mask to cover face and mouth. Sleeves that are snug at the wrist. Mittens (they are warmer than gloves) Several layers of loose-fitting clothing. Water-resistant coat and boots.'

CHRISTMAS WEEKEND:

The winds will weaken some during the day on Saturday but it is still going to be very cold. The winds will be around 10-15 MPH on Saturday and come out of the west. This will again make it feel as low as -10° early Christmas Eve morning. Highs on Christmas Eve (Saturday) will be in the low 20s and we will fall down to around 10° for Christmas morning (Sunday). Highs on Sunday will make it back up to the mid to upper 20s and Sunday night low will drop down to the low teens. We should see mostly sunny skies this weekend but it is still going to be very cold. Please protect the 4 Ps (People, Pipes, Pets and Plants) from this system. This is a life threatening system if you get caught or stuck outside for an extended period of time, please be safe and bring the pets in.

May be an image of snow and text that says 'WINTER WEATHER TIPS FROSTBITE Even skin that is protected can be subject to frostbite. It's the most common injury yreslting from exposure severe cold, and it usually occurs on fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin. FROZEN PIPES let the cold water drip from the faucet served by exposed pipes. Running water through the pipe even at trickle helps prevent pipes from freezing. PETS too cold fit's too cold for you, t's probably for your pet, so keep your animals inside.'

FINAL THOUGHT:

All locations have already topped their monthly rain averages during the first two weeks of the month across West Tennessee. We will get a break from the rain late this week but that will usher in another round of cold weather that could be sticking around into the Christmas holiday. Don’t give up on a white Christmas this year as long term forecast models are still suggesting snow that could linger around through the holiday. 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