Today will be a cold and breezy day, with wind chills staying in the 20s most of the day. Winds could gusts over 20 mph later this afternoon and into tonight. These are southerly winds and they are working on getting this arctic air out of here. The arctic air has been served an eviction notice and the south winds are here to enforce it. However, like a really bad tenant, the arctic air doesn’t want to leave.
I also compare arctic air to syrup; it’s heavy, dense and shallow. Whenever warmer air tries to push it out of the way, it’s often easier for the warmer air, which is much lighter and less dense than arctic air, to just go up and over the arctic air at the surface. This leads to surface temps being below freezing, while temperatures up above us are warmer. This is what causes a mixed bag of precip, like what we will see tonight and Monday morning.
A winter weather advisory is now in effect for the Cumberland Plateau beginning at midnight tonight and expiring at 9:00 a.m. Monday. All precip is expected to be plain rain by mid-morning, though we’ll need to be mindful of those colder valley locations that may hold on to sub-freezing temps a bit longer. I expect the whole region will be free of all wintry precip by noon Monday.
Again, precip will be light. This is not a snow or ice storm scenario, by any means. Precip may be so light that black ice from freezing drizzle may be our greatest concern. Keep in mind, it only takes a little bit of ice to create a great big travel nightmare. If you have travel plans late tonight or Monday morning ,PLEASE make sure the roads are OK before you venture out.
At this time, neither Nashville and Knoxville are in the winter weather advisory. Both are expected to warm above freezing before precip moves in, with the Cumberland Plateau right in the middle and just inside that narrow window of opportunity for freezing precip. That being said, if you have travel plans toward Knoxville tomorrow, recheck their forecast. Sometimes the colder air gets trapped in that valley and causes unexpected icing. Plus, travel through Crab Orchard on I-40 may be a nightmare tomorrow morning. We all know how car accidents pile up there when that curvy interstate gets slick.
The middle and second half of next week look milder. Heck, we may even hit 60 on Thursday. Can you imagine how warm that will feel? It turns cooler next weekend but nothing compared to what we’ve been experiencing.
You all have a wonderful Sunday and do your best to stay warm. I’ll update this blog, as needed, with any important information you might need. Also, follow me on Facebook for updates as well. Take care!