Main Threats
Tonight: Bitter cold wind chills
Friday night/Saturday: Wintry precipitation that could impact travel
Summary
Though we will see lots of sunshine today, it will be very breezy. With temps hanging out in the 30s all day, that wind is going to make it feel much cooler. The winds is really going to feel cold tonight when we drop into the 20s. Make sure your neighbors are staying warm (esp the elderly) and make sure your outside pets have a place to bed down out of that cold wind.
A disturbance sliding to our north may throw a few afternoon clouds our way, but that should be about it. Any flurries should stay in Kentucky.
The sunshine continues tomorrow but those breezy winds will still be blowing in cold air. That cold air will still be in place Friday night when our next storm system moves in. The precip will likely begin as light snow and we could see some light accumulation by Saturday morning. The big question is whether or not we will warm up enough Saturday for the snow to change to all rain. The exact track of the low will determine that.
Right now, it looks like we should see snow up to about noon Saturday, followed by a transition to a rain/snow mix that may persist on through the night Saturday. This is just like the other systems we’ve had this year, where we teeter right on the edge of snow vs rain. Just stay tuned, as changes will likely be made to this forecast as we near the weekend.
Even if this stays all snow, we would be looking at about 2-3 inches, as it looks right now. With the current forecast, I could see us getting up to an inch Saturday morning before the transition to rain/snow mix takes place.
Why must we always be on that rain/snow line?
Records
This was one of the coldest days in Nashville’s history in 1886. This is from the historic cold snap that I talked about in yesterday’s records. The high on this day only reached seven degrees in Music City. The day started off with a morning low of eight below zero. The high and low temp created an average of one degree below zero. The high, low, and daily average (mean) were all three records for this date.
On this day in 1962 heavy snow blanketed all of East Tennessee. Knoxville reported a whopping 12 inches of snow!
Not only was it really cold in Adams, New York on this day in 1976, it was snowing! I’m not talking about some light snow, either. I’m talking real-deal, Meteorologist Mark-approved snowfall. After some serious snow squall action from Lake Ontario, the town of Adams found itself buried underneath 68 inches of snow! I did some complicated math (ha) and found out that 68 inches of snow is 5.6 feet! More than five feet of snow!? That much snow would almost satisfy me.
Listen, before you judge me for wanting apocalyptic snowfall, you best keep in mind that we have now survived TWO winters in a row without a diddly squat’s worth of snow. For those of you who are not professionally trained meteorologists, a “diddly squat” aint much of nothin’.
Almanac
Record high: 66 (1957)
Record low: -11 (1970)
Sunrise: 6:50
Sunset: 4:44
Day Length: 9 hrs 53 mins 30 secs
Tomorrow’s Day Length: 9 hrs 54 mins 33 secs
One Year Ago Today
We were finally warming up from a long streak of bitter cold weather this time last year. Our high finally reached 51 degrees, after starting the day at 38. There was a trace of precipitation recorded, which resulted from very dense fog in the morning. The rest of the day was cloudy, with calm winds.
News
Some very kind person decided to show the NWS office in Jackson, Kentucky how much they are appreciated. NWS Forecast Jane Wix said, “Some sweet person in the community came up and delivered all this wonderful food to us. It fills our hearts… and our tummies too! It’s delicious!!” What a kind gesture!
As the government shutdown lingers into day 18, NWS employees must continue to report to work, though their paychecks are withheld until the shutdown ends.
Continue to keep my Grandma and Grandpa Baldwin close to your hearts. Granny had a rough night last night. She’s not liking being confined to a bed but that’s her fate for the next 6-12 weeks. Hopefully, her leg will heal and we can avoid pneumonia, infections, etc.
You all have a great day.