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Headlines
Accumulating snowfall likely Monday
Bitter cold temperatures coming Monday
Cold and unsettled weather week ahead
Mixed precip possible to end the week (monitoring)
Meteorologist Mark’s Vlog in a Flash
48-Hour WX
Seven-Day Forecast
Daily Forecast Summary
Today: Showers developing this afternoon. Becoming likely be evening. Rain may mix with snow late tonight.
Monday: Rain/snow mix turns to snow by afternoon. Accumulation of snow likely overnight. Cold & windy.
Tuesday: Morning flurries. Skies should become partly cloudy by afternoon.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny and cold.
Thursday – Friday: Chance of rain and snow. Monitoring.
Saturday: Partly to mostly cloudy.
Meteorologist Mark’s Snow Scale (New!)
Threats
A rain/snow mix will change to snow on Monday. By Monday night, the snow will be accumulating. Up to one inch of accumulation is likely area-wide, with isolated higher amounts possible. Stay tuned as these amounts could be adjusted upward a bit. At this time, confidence is high for up to one inch of snow. Confidence is lower for 1-2 inch amounts, though that may change as more data comes in today.
On This Day in Wx History
1955- Low temperature of 5 degrees sets a monthly record at Crossville.
Almanac
Yesterday’s National Temperature Extremes
High: 89° at Weslaco, Texas
Low: -21° at both Peter Sinks, Utah & Antero Reservoir, Colorado
Tropical Outlook
Even though tomorrow is the official end of hurricane season, this is one season that just doesn’t want to stop. There continues to be an area worth monitoring in the far eastern Atlantic. The good news is that this will never be a threat to the US.
Today’s National Wx Hazards
Severe storms threaten the northern Gulf Coast and Southeast Coastline. All modes of severe weather are possible. Farther north, mixed wintry precip is expected across the Ohio Valley, with accumulating snows across the Great Lakes region, as well as the Cascades of Washington and Oregon.
Tomorrow’s National Wx Hazards
Accumulating snowfall is likely across the Ohio Valley, stretching as far south as the Tennessee Valley. More snow is expected across New England and the northern Rockies. Severe storms continues to threaten the coast of North Carolina.
Sunday Story
(I didn’t get a chance to write a story last week, so I dug up an oldie but a goodie from the past. I figure it’s pretty relevant, considering the cold air we have coming! I hope you enjoy!)
During the winter, we often have cold fronts swoop down on us from the north. We all know cold fronts bring colder and drier air, but did you know there’s actually two different kinds of cold fronts?
Most cold fronts bring chilly Canadian air with them and we call these polar old fronts. The air is chilly, but it is not bitter cold. These are the air masses that bring us clear, cool afternoons and crisp, cool nights.
The other kind of cold front is called an arctic cold front. This is the kind of cold front that brings the bitter cold air that can cause record-breaking cold. Arctic air is heavy, which allows gravity to pull it close to the surface. This causes arctic air masses to be very shallow, causing it to act like syrup poured on a countertop, as it slowly spreads across the landscape.
As arctic air encounters mountains, some unique temperature patterns emerge. The higher mountain peaks may actually be above the syrupy, shallow arctic air. We expect it to get colder as we go up a mountain, but with arctic air the coldest air may be at the lower elevations. This can also cause cold air to get stuck in the valleys. This can be a problem if moisture begins moving in, especially if rain falls in the valley and into sub-freezing air.
One of the coldest arctic cold fronts to affect us on the Cumberland Plateau came in January of 1985. Many locations dipped into the twenty to twenty-five degrees below zero range. I don’t know about you, but I hope that kind of arctic cold weather stays up north with the Polar bears!
