Major Winter Storm Expected Friday

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Weather Update – Thursday 11:15 p.m.

We’ve already started to see some reports of freezing rain and sleet but the bulk of the precipitation is farther east than expected already. We’re continuing to keep an eye on the VIPIR 7 Radar which continues to show a band of freezing rain setting up north of Interstate-40 near the Tennessee-Kentucky state line but accumulation of ice is expected to be a tenth of an inch or less.

Temperatures at 11:11 p.m. were in the low to mid 30s for most of West Tennessee and by the morning, we’ll see the temperatures continue to drop. In fact, temperatures will be dropping throughout the day bringing about the change over from rain to ice and then snow across West Tennessee around sunrise Friday morning. After sunrise, snow will be heavy at times through lunchtime before coming to an end Friday afternoon and evening.

Conditions will be difficult if not simply dangerous for travel on Friday morning after the snow begins to accumulate. Winds will be blowing between 20 and 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 40 mph or more in areas near the Mississippi River. This could ultimately bring down power lines and result in some spotty power outages across West Tennessee.

We don’t expect the temperatures to warm much above freezing until Sunday, so driving conditions outside of those main roads could remain poor through much of the weekend. Stay with the VIPIR 7 Storm Team for the very latest updates to this forecast.

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