Slick Roads & Windy Conditions Friday, Cold Through the Weekend!

WBBJ 7 Forecast Update

January 18, 2024

Joel Barnes,

WBBJ 7 Forecast Update:

A batch of freezing fog is dropping in from the northwest tonight. It will bring limited visibility and likely some ice on elevated surfaces. Black ice will also develop on wet roads as the temperature drops below freezing tonight into Friday. Also, wind chill concerns return this weekend. Catch the latest on the fog, the cold, and also on when the warmer weather will return, coming up here.

May be an image of map, floor plan and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv.com com CURRENT VISIBILITY 9:14 PM Union City POCKET OF FREEZING FOG DRIFTING TO THE SOUTHEAST TONIGHT! Martin 2 Paris 2. Dyersburg 2. Trenton Camden unting 12.4 12.4 Alamo 2 Ripley 2 Brownsville Coving on 12.4 Lexington 12.4 Parsons 12.4 Jackson 12.4 Henderson 12.4 A FREEZING FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM FRIDAY FOR ALL OF WEST TN THIS WILL LEAD TO ICY ELEVATED SURFACES LIMITED VISIBILITY Hlemphi 12.4 Somerville 12.4 Bolivar 12.4 Selmer 12.4 Savannah 12.4'

RECORD COLD THIS WEEK:

Temperatures stayed below 15° for a 72 hour period from Sunday night until Wednesday afternoon for most of West Tennessee. Jackson set record low maximum temperatures for both Monday (12°) and Tuesday (13°). On top of that, Wednesday morning was the coldest day since 1985 and the 4th coldest day in recorded history in Jackson dropping to -10°. The coldest day ever was January 24, 1963 with a recorded low of -13°.

FREEZING FOG ADVISORY:

The National Weather Service in Memphis has issued a freezing fog advisory for all of West Tennessee tonight. Visibility one quarter mile or less in freezing fog are expected. Hazardous driving conditions due to low visibility and potential slippery conditions on bridges and other elevated surfaces. Black ice is alos likely to develop in some areas tonight.

TONIGHT:

The next storm system came through on Thursday. Highs on Thursday reached the mid 30s after starting in the low 20s. The showers moved in during the morning and continued into the late afternoon. The precipitation started as freezing rain and transitioned to a light cold rain in the afternoon. Most of us saw a solid glaze of ice leading to slick roadways and sidewalks. Thursday night lows will back down to the upper teens or low 20s. The showers will move out by Friday morning. The winds are going to kick up tonight and be an issue Friday morning and be out of the northwest between 15-20 MPH with higher gusts overnight. A few flurries could mix in as well early Saturday morning but we not expecting snow accumulations.

Both Friday and the upcoming weekend will likely be quite cold again as well. Some single digit mornings will likely return for both weekend mornings. Do not let your winter guard down yet. The blowing winds will push water back onto the roadways in spots that will freeze tonight. Some black ice is going to be prevalent tonight and again on Friday morning. We will not be warming up above freezing on Friday.

May be an image of map and text that says 'STORM TEAM WEATHER wbbjtv.com WEAR FORECAST WIND GUSTS FRI 7:00 AM Union City 29 Tiptonville 30 SIKUNG Martin 36 Paris 31 Dyersburg 26 The winds will kick up tonight and tomorrow morning too, so look at for black ice Friday. We will fall back down to the single digits Friday night. Treaton 29 Alamo 26 Ripley 29 Camden 29 30 Covington 27 Jackson 29 Brownsville 29 Lexingt fon 31 Parsons 27 Henderson 31 Somerville 31 Bolivar 29 Selmer 23 Savannah 22'

FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND:

The winds are going to gust as high as 35 MPH and be sustained between 20-25 MPH on Friday and come out of the northwest! Friday will be a dry but cold day with highs only reaching the mid 20s. We should see clouds sticking around for the first half of the day and they will move out Friday night making for another very cold morning on Saturday. Saturday morning lows are forecast again to fall down to the low single digits and another wind chill advisory will likely be issued.

Highs on Saturday will struggle to get above 20° but we should see mostly sunny skies. The winds on Saturday will come out of the north before transitioning back to the southeast on Sunday. Saturday night will again be cold with lows falling down to the mid single digits. Sunday we will warm up a bit to the mid 30s and again we should see plenty of sunshine. Sunday night into next Monday will bring a start to some warmer weather back to the Mid South.

NEXT WEEK:

Rain showers will be returning Monday night and stick around into the day on Tuesday. The rain will linger into Wednesday as well and become heavy again late in the day on Wednesday. Some people will see another 1-2″ of rain. The rain, plus the melting snow, could lead to some flooding concerns next week and that is something we are also going to be watching in the 7 Storm Team Weather Center. Highs will warm up next week from the mid 40s Monday, to low 50s Tuesday and mid 50s on Wednesday. Highs will be around 60° on Thursday , but that could lead to a few storms as well. The winds will come out of the south and it will be a mostly cloudy first half of next week. Some storms may try to mix in during the week but as of now, we are not expecting a round of severe storms to accompany the rain.

FINAL THOUGHT:

Some areas saw over 4″ of rain this week between the first two systems and snow on top of it. Water levels are going to be running high for the next week or so. EXTREME bitter life threatening cold will linger through the weekend so please be prepared for slick roads in spots until next week. Warmer and rainy weather is coming next week. Heavy rain and melting snow could create some flooding hazards as well.

Here are some winter safety tips and reminders for dealing with the slick road and extreme cold that will be lingering all week long for us.