Major Winter Storm to Hit West Tennessee this Weekend!
WBBJ 7 Forecast Update
WBBJ 7 Forecast Update:
Winter Storm Warnings have been issued for most of West Tennessee and Ice Storm Warning have been issued for counties southeast of Madison county. Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain is expected to hit everyone at times from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon. Snow totals (5-9″) will be possible in our northern counties with snow totals as low as (2-4″) in our southern counties. Along I-40 and in the middle can expect 3-7″ of snow and 1/4-1/2″ of ice. Higher ice totals are expected, up to an inch down south and lesser totals below 1/4″ are expected in our northern counties. Join us tonight at 5 on WBBJ 7 Eyewitness news for the latest forecast breakdown and what factors could make these numbers go up or down before the event starts.
Areas in West Tennessee, depending on how far north you are, could end up with over a foot of snow or more and some areas could up with an inch of ice or more. Locations closer you are to the boot hill of Missouri will see the most snow and the closer you are to the Pickwick damn area, the more ice you are going to see. Areas along I-40 will likely see both snow and ice from the system. The magic temperatures looks to be around 15°. If you are cooler than 15°, the rain will have enough time to refreeze to produce snow. But if you are above 15°, the rain will NOT enough time to refreeze and will freeze when it hits the cold surface and stick as ice.
Trust me when I say this, you would rather have 12″ of snow than 1″ of ice. I really hope we see some changes in the forecast over the next 48 hours and we all get snow. Join us tonight at 5 on WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News for the latest forecast information.
Here is an explainer as to how freezing rain develops and how it will even be possible with temperatures in the mid teens and 20s. But here are the Basics:
Snow to Rain: Snow forms high in clouds, but as it falls, it enters a layer of warmer air (above 32°F) and melts into rain.
Warm Air Layer: This warm layer can be a few hundred to a thousand feet thick.
Freezing Layer: Below the warm layer is a thin band of cold air (below 32°F) right at the surface.
Supercooling: The raindrops fall through this cold surface layer, getting chilled to near-freezing but not freezing in the air.
Freezes on Contact: When these supercooled raindrops hit surfaces like roads, cars, or power lines that are at or below freezing, they freeze immediately, forming a sheet of ice.
Power outages are likely to happen in our area from the system. If you lose power in your home, you will likely lose access to your television. If that happens, know there are several ways online to continue to get your news/weather coverage from WBBJ! You can still watch us on these platforms:
Our WBBJ News & Weather Apps
Our WBBJ Website, select the live link
WBBJ Roku Streaming App
WBBJ on Apple TV
WBBJ’s YouTube Page
WBBJ NEWS/WEATHER Facebook Pages
If you lose power, know it is going to get VERY COLD as the system moves out. Many of us will be falling down below zero by Monday morning as the skies clear out. Please have a plan for you and your family if you lose power for an extended period of time from the winter storm.
THIS WEEK:
Thursday was the nicest day of the week and so hopefully you took advantage of it and got your home affairs in order and make sure you are ready for a potential big winter storm this weekend. Highs on Thursday made it up to around 50° and Thursday night lows will fall down to the low 30s by Friday morning. There will be some clouds in the morning and some sun in the afternoon before more clouds build in later in the day. It was a partly cloudy day on Thursday with the winds varied in direction as the day went on.
The morning on Friday looks decent but a cold front will pass early in the day. The front could bring a spitting shower or two, but we are not expecting much. Highs will only reach up to the upper 30s to near 40°. We might see a bit of sun early in the day but overall we are looking at a mostly cloudy day on Friday. The winds will predominantly come out of the northeast on Friday and temperatures will drop quickly towards the back half of the day. We are expecting showers to move in late in the day. There is a chance we get a period of cold rain, before turning to a wintry mix and ice before transitioning to all snow overnight. Friday night lows should fall to the upper teens by the time we kick off your weekend.
THE WEEKEND:
There is the potential for a significant winter storm to impact the Mid South and West Tennessee this weekend. This system is going to bring heavy snow and ice with it. The areas that could see the most ice and the most snow are still up for discussion and we will be spending a lot of time this week analyzing the storm. Saturday is going to be wet with snow being the most likely culprit at this time because highs are forecast to be in the low to mid 20s on Saturday. The showers are expected to fall most of the day on Saturday before clearing out by Sunday afternoon.
This system has the potential of bringing many inches of snow as well as crippling amounts of ice. The main area of concern for an ice storm, as of now, appears to be just south of I-40, but obviously 2-3 days out, a lot can change in the forecast. Saturday night lows will fall down near 10° and Sunday highs will only reach the mid to upper 20s. The coldest air from the system is likely coming in Sunday night into Monday morning when the skies clear out and below zero temperatures seem likely at this time. Look for more updates during the week in the 7 Storm Team Weather Center as the system gets closer.
Storm Team Chief Meteorologist
Joel Barnes
Facebook: @JoelBarnesWeather
Twitter: @JoelBarnes13
Instagram: @joelbarnes13
