Well, it is finally here, and it is beautiful outside! Currently some portions of the mid state are experiencing freezing rain/sleet, while those of us up north are getting some pretty heavy snowfall! I made the mistake of stepping outside barefoot, only to have my feet covered in slush. This means that we got a brief period of freezing rain/sleet, which then means that a lot of the ground is soon going to become ice. This will cause for very hazardous road conditions, so be careful!
Both the National Weather Service and the NAM forecast model agree that by the end of saturday Northern Middle Tennessee with have up to and over 6 inches of snow! Look over the graphics below. This first graphic is the expected snowfall today. It looks like todays total snow/ice accumulations will be up to 3 inches, with weekend totals at 6.
And this is the expected snowfall through the weekend.
Here is a radar image I took this morning. It is a Level II radar image, so it it much higher res than what is publicly used on the internet, by news media, etc. Note the areas of red on the radar; that is not snow. That area is currently experiencing freezing rain/sleet, which could be hazardous. (click to enlarge)
Middle Tennessee is still under a Winter Storm Watch, which means hazardous winter conditions are imminent and appropriate actions should be taken to protect life and property.
(from the National Weather Service)
...THE WINTER STORM IS MOVING IN...
AT 930 AM...RADAR INDICATES THAT LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL IS NOW
COVERING A LARGE PORTION OF MIDDLE TN. MUCH OF THE PRECIPITATION
OVER THE PLATEAU AREA WAS NOT YET REACHING THE GROUND. SOME SLEET
WAS MIXING IN WITH THE SNOW ACROSS SOUTHERN AREAS.
PRIOR TO NOON TODAY...LOOK FOR UP TO 1 INCH OF SNOWFALL TO
OCCUR...PRIMARILY ACROSS THE NORTHWESTERN QUARTER OF THE MID STATE...
INCLUDING THE NASHVILLE METRO AREA.
THE WINTER STORM WARNING PERIOD IS STILL SCHEDULED TO BEGIN AT
NOON TODAY. THIS AFTERNOON...LOOK FOR THE PRECIPITATION TO BECOME
HEAVIER WITH ACCUMULATING SNOWFALL...SLEET AND SOME ICE
ACCUMULATION EXPECTED FOR THE ENTIRE MID STATE.
MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO DRIVE WITH EXTREME CAUTION. A TRANSITION
TO VERY TREACHEROUS DRIVING CONDITIONS IS EXPECTED AS WE GO
THROUGH THE DAY. IN FACT...SOME ROADS WILL LIKELY BECOME IMPASSABLE
AS WE MOVE TOWARD THIS EVENING AND INTO TONIGHT.
POWER OUTAGES MAY ALSO BE A POTENTIAL PROBLEM TONIGHT...AS THE
WEIGHT FROM THE HEAVY SNOW CAN SNAP TREE LIMBS AND BRING DOWN
TREES ACROSS THE AREA.
STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL TELEVISION STATION
FOR FUTURE UPDATES.
Enjoy your snow day everyone, and be safe! Be looking out for future posts with measured snowfall amounts, cool pictures, and more! If you have any snow pictures you would like to send in to be shown off, go to the “about us” and then the “contact us” page!
