Main Threats
Sunday night/Monday morning: light snow that could impact travel
Summary
After a night of light rain mixed with sleet, we’ll see some scattered rain showers the first half of our Saturday. That will be followed by much more widespread rainfall the second half of our day. Temps will remain above freezing today and tonight, so there will be no issues with wintry weather. Rainfall totals should range between one half and one inch of rain.
Below is the current radar (8:40 a.m), showing a shield of rain over West TN that will arrive here later on.
The precip becomes more scattered in nature for our Sunday. As this storm system pulls east of our area, north winds will return, bringing some slightly colder air with them, especially since those winds will be coming off snowpack across the Midwest. Any leftover moisture Sunday night and Monday morning would fall in the form of light snow. As of now, I don’t expect any major travel impacts but it doesn’t take much to make some travel headaches. I’ll keep an eye on this and let you know how things look as time goes along.
By the start of our work week, the precip moves out and we return to a seasonable pattern. Temps may even climb back above normal for the end of next week, ahead of our next storm system.
Records
On this day in 1918, following a half a foot of snow the previous day, the high in Nashville only reached two degrees! This is the lowest daily maximum temperature on record for Music City.
Speaking of unusual cold…
On this day in 1985 a very unusual snow storm struck southern Texas. The palm trees of San Antonio were blanketed with 13 inches of snow! This snow broke an incredible snow record for the city. This was more snow than they had ever recorded for an entire season! In other words, they got more snow this day than they could ever accumulate in a few months worth of winter.
This was a very warm January day for much of the nation in 1987. Twenty-seven cities across the Midwest broke record high temperatures. Valentine, Nebraska hit 72 degrees, and Rapid City, South Dakota hit 76 degrees, just to name a couple of cities. The average high for these cities is in the mid 30s.
Almanac
Record high: 67 (2013)
Record low: -3 (1981)
Tomorrow’s sunrise: 6:50
Today’s sunset: 4:47
Length of Day today: 9 hrs 56 mins 48 secs
Length of Day tomorrow: 9 hrs 58 mins 0 secs
One Year Ago Today
We were impacted by a very strong cold front this time last year. The high for the day was at 6:00 a.m., when we hit 58 degrees. That is a heck of warm start to a January day! However, it looks like a cold front moved in right at noon and sent temperatures tumbling. Rain and wind turned to light snow and wind in the afternoon. By 7:00 p.m. we were cloudy and 19 degrees! That’s almost a 40 degree temperature drop in 12 hours. Ouch!
News
For those of you longing for colder winter weather, I have some good news. There are strong indications that temperatures are going to take a big tumble for the last couple of weeks of this month and into February. Let me remind you that we take long-range outlooks with a grain of salt, but to forecast colder temps the last half of January isn’t that far of a stretch. (ha)
The map below is for January 19th through February 1st. Indications are that temperatures will be below normal for a huge chunk of the country (left). There are also indications that precipitation will remain above normal (right). That’s a good combination for us snow lovers, but it’s certainly no guarantee we’ll get snow.
Speaking of snow…
I have already been asked about a winter storm around the 20th. I needn’t even look to know the likely source of this rumor. It’s probably the site that banned me when I kept annoying them by reminding them of how often they’re wrong. It was fun while it lasted (ha). Someday, they’ll get one right because, as Granny once said on the Beverly Hillbillies, even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while.
It amazes me at how many people share those posts, or tag their friends in them. That is often followed by comments like, “These guys are good!” or “This is the best weather site!” Perception is an odd thing, especially in meteorology.
Ok. I’ve said enough. Those of you who have followed me for some time know that you’re not here for weather drama. The weather is fascinating enough as it is! No need to be so dramatic. Do the models show a winter storm toward the end of January? Of course they do! They almost always show crazy stuff that far out this time of year.
Trust me. I’ll let you know as soon as I see a legitimate threat, just like I always do. You’re here for good weather information. If you want drama, you’ll have to look elsewhere. And you all know not to even ask me about something you saw on “Meteorologist Drama Queen’s” website. I aint got no time for that! (HA)
You know I thank you all so much for following along and trusting me with your weather! I appreciate it more than you know. If you enjoy what you see here fell free to share with your friends and family. The more folks we have reading along the better!
And I sure hope you’re having a great weekend!