Posted on 01/29/2010 1:12:37 PM PST by Star Traveler
[Murray-Calloway County...]
By HAWKINS TEAGUE
Staff Writer
The snow storm expected to hit the region late tonight will likely get started later than originally anticipated, but Murray-Calloway County residents should expect up to six inches to fall by Friday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Alex Dodd, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, said the forecast called for snow to start falling mid-to-late Thursday evening, but a winter storm warning will now go into effect at midnight and last through Friday. While it is expected to start rather slowly, precipitation should increase in the morning, he said.
“When people wake up Friday morning, there may be only an inch on the ground, but don't let that fool you,” Dodd said. “The snow could peak around midday.”
Dodd said the snow storm is expected to drop four to eight inches in various parts of western Kentucky down to the Tennessee border. Southeast Missouri near Tennessee could get seven to eight inches. Less snow is anticipated in the northern part of the region and Dodd said that Murray would probably get close to six inches.
Travelers should expect hazardous driving conditions Friday and Saturday, Dodd said. Because highs on Saturday are expected to be in the low 20s, the cold temperatures could dampen the effectiveness of the treatment of highways with salt brine. However, it should be sunny, so that could cause some snow to melt and improve conditions by Saturday afternoon, he said.
Dodd said that even after the main roads clear, it could be slick in spots, so motorists should slow down more than they usually do. He said he expected winds to be between 15 and 20 mph on Saturday, which could cause snow to blow across roads even after they are initially cleared.
The forecast is not calling for temperatures to be above freezing until at least Monday, so the snow should stick around for a few days, Dodd said. High temperatures will likely be in the upper 20s on Sunday - though also sunny - and temperatures could creep back into the low 30s on Monday. Temperatures are expected to be in the upper 30s on Tuesday with a light chance of snow, he said.
While Dodd said it is “very understandable” that many people are nervous about the weather because it will hit close to the one-year anniversary of the ice storm, they can relax a bit because only snow is expected to fall.
“We're expecting no freezing rain whatsoever,” he said.
Dodd said there might be some sleet mixed in with snow at the early onset of the storm, but it will likely go unnoticed and should have no impact on the overall effects of the storm. Because of the cold temperatures, the snow should be of the dry variety, so that should alleviate any fears of power outages, he said. It is possible that someone could drive off the road and hit a utility pole, but that would likely only cause isolated outages, he said.
Keith Todd, spokesman for the Kentucky Department of Highways, said that road crews started spraying salt brine on “B” and “C” priority routes on Wednesday and will do “A” routes - the ones with the most traffic - throughout Thursday. This is because less traffic on the lower-priority routes will cause the chemicals to stay on the road longer.
“Pre-treating of roadways with brine is a cost-effective way to improve safety when winter precipitation is in the forecast,” Todd said in an e-mail. “The brine dries to a fine powder to be available to be activated by falling snow in the early hours of a winter storm to help improve safety. It also keeps snow and ice from bonding to the pavement which makes it easier to push it off the roadway once accumulations require plowing.”
Story created Jan 28, 2010 - 12:03:00 EST.
Global Warming is amazing.
6 inches of super-heated solid steam will fall to the ground soon.
It started snowing in Nashville 8:00-8:30, didn’t start in Gallatin 30-miles north till after 12:00
It’s not snow, it’s Global Warming!
Okay, y’all (in Kentucky)... you can use this thread to keep each other up-to-date on what’s going on in your state... :-)
That’s gotta put a dent in the ‘Tucky-juana winter crop ..
Why are they using brine instead of rock salt? Rock salt works great up north.
Hope it doesn’t get as bad for you as it did for us in 1994, our last Kentucky winter. Dixie Die-way was for all practical purposes closed for a week. An inch and a half of ice was followed by 15 inches of snow, and then the temperature dropped to below freezing and stayed there for a week. I remember hearing about people on snowmobiles going out on the Gene Snyder freeway to deliver coffee, hot chocolate, and food to the truckers who’d gotten stuck there.
Well, I’m in Tulsa, Oklahoma and we got hit hard in Oklahoma, so I was posting threads for other states, on this same storm that is moving out of Oklahoma now, so that people in those states could post their information... :-)
I think there are about a quarter million people in Oklahoma without power now and in Western Oklahoma, I saw reports of ice up to three inches thick from the freezing rain...
Got about a 1/2” here in Gallatin right now and has
about quit snowing...listening to the scanner,the county
is really spreading salt,and no wrecks except for a drunk
that went in a ditch for the second time
Put out enough hay this morning to last the cows a week.
Yeah, I remember a nasty one in Lawton/Fort Sill while we were there, somewhere about 24 years ago. Yikes time flies!
A local forecaster in St. Louis said, “If you are planning to go to Nashville Friday evening, don’t.”
That’s back when we did have a little bit colder winters. They had warmed up quite a bit since then. But, I now think we’re back in for some colder winters once again.
Oh yeah... :-)
January 29, 8:58 AM
Raleigh Weather Examiner
Allan Huffman
“Major winter storm unfolding in the southern US”
Our major southeast winter storm is currently pounding the southern plains with snow and ice yesterday in Texas and Oklahoma, and moving into southern Missouri and Arkansas today. This may be remembered as an I-40 winter storm as the precip expands east and seems to focus along I-40 the next 48 hours.
Cold and dry air is moving into North Carolina this morning with temperatures in the low to mid 30s and dewpoints in the teens. This air mass is setting the stage for our winter storm and will continue to be advected in by a building surface high in the Great Lakes that will ridge into the northeast US the next few days.
Ok, so down to the storm. I have updated my map below with the latest forecast. I will issue updates to the map if I see a need to make a change to the zones.
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Zone A: I think a band of 12-18 inches of snow could fall across the extreme northern North Carolina piedmont as well as the southern Virginia border counties. This area should see mostly all snow although I can not rule out a little sleet in the eastern sections of this zone.
Zone B: This area will see a substantial snow with as much as 6-10 inches likely. Most areas will likely see all snow from this in this zone. If there is any last minute trend north, this area could see closer to a foot or more, if there is a last second trend south some areas in this zone will only see light accumulations.
Zone C: This zone which includes most of the I-40 corridor in North Carolina from Hickory to Raleigh as well as the northeast piedmont will likely see a snow/sleet mix with more snow than sleet. We will see a substantial period of all snow to start which could accumulate to 6-8 inches. Then by Saturday morning sleet could mix in and limit further big snow accumulations, a change back to snow with light snow accumulations is likely Saturday afternoon and evening. IF, we see less sleet mix in, this area could easily see 12-15 inches of snow. For now though, I think we do see some sleet mix in and thus this area will see 8-12 inches of total snow and sleet accumulation.
Zone D: To keep continuity I kept the major ice area zone D. I have shifted this a little south though, south of the Charlotte area. This region from the North Carolina sandhills into the southeast piedmont and much of upstate South Carolina and extreme NE Georgia could see a severe ice storm. I think at least 0.5 inch of ice accrual will occur with as much as 1 inch of ice accrual possible. This will be a severe event and you should be ready to lose trees and power. The western part of this zone could see the precip begin as rain and snow and change to snow with some light accumulations before a change to freezing rain.
Zone E: This zone lies between the severe ice storm and the zone that will see mostly snow and only some sleet. I think this zone sees a healthy mix of snow and sleet especially from the southern foothills east, that will accumulate to 4-8 inches. The southern mountains could see more snow than sleet and could end up higher than 8 inches, but for now this seems like a good call.
Zone F: This zone will see significant ice, but not as much as zone D. Many areas will likely start as rain and transition to ice. I could see 0.25-0.5 inch ice accrual of freezing rain in this zone. Areas south of this zone could see some marginal freezing rain but not as much as this area.
Zone G: This zone will likely see rain change to snow or sleet Saturday. For now I will keep accumulations light at 1-2 inches, but this will be an area to monitor to see when the changeover occurs.
Zone H: This is a tricky area, and I don’t pretend to know southeast Tennessee climo well. It looks like a mess that could go either way, some runs have shown a heavy wet snow and other mostly rain. I think a mixed bag will fall here with some snow accumulation likely.
I also want to mention that the models are showing the possibility for thunder Saturday morning into early afternoon in northern North Carolina and southern Virginia. So don’t be surprised if you hear thunder tomorrow morning in those areas.
Very cold weather will follow this storm the snow cover causing very cold overnight lows and reducing the warming potential during the day. For now the models look paltry for any precipitation Tuesday/Wednesday but if some does come we may have to worry about at least some freezing rain. For now I leave that mention out.
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