Headlines
A chance for light snow on Monday
Milder by mid-week
Another strong cold front arrives Friday
Meteorologist Mark’s Wx Vlog
48-Hour WX
Seven-Day Forecast
Daily Forecast Summary
Today: Mostly cloudy, though there could be a peak or two of sun. Cold. Clouds increase again tonight.
Monday: A chance for light snow throughout the day. Little snow accumulation is possible.
Tuesday: Partly cloudy.
Wednesday – Thursday: Mostly sunny. Warmer.
Friday: Mostly cloudy, as another cold front passes through.
Saturday: Mostly sunny and cold.
Meteorologist Mark’s Wx Thoughts
The system that I’ve been watching so every closely is dropping some big snows on Texas and Louisiana today. I’m sure those kids (and the kids at heart!) are very excited! That system will continue tracking to our south, but just enough moisture could work its way our way to give us some snow. Those better snow chances are, once again, mostly south of I-40 and closer to the moisture source. I’m forecasting one inch or less, with an emphasis on the “or less” part.
Another strong cold front arrives Friday. Interestingly, models are trying to show yet another Gulf low that I’ll have to watch by this time next week. Like this week’s system, we’ll be cold enough for snow….we just need the moisture.
Wx Threats for the Next 7 Days
Light snow will threaten the area on Monday. Precip could start soon after sunrise. All precip is looking very light with this system. It only takes a little bit of snow to make for a slick spot, though. The ground is very cold and temps are not expected to warm much above freezing on Monday. That combination should lead to much of the snow sticking. Total accumulation will stay around a dusting to a half inch, with some of you possibly picking up as much as an inch, especially south of Crossville.
Meteorologist Mark’s Snow Scale
On This Day in Wx History
1800 – Savannah, Georgia, received a foot and a half of snow! Ten inches of snow blanketed Charleston, South Carolina. It was the heaviest snowfall of record for the immediate Coastal Plain of the southeastern U.S.
Almanac
Yesterday’s National Temperature Extremes
High: 77° at Camarillo, Chino, and Pala, California
Low: -26° at Old Faithful, Wyoming
Today’s National Wx Hazards
A southern snow storm is dropping several inches of snow across central Texas and northern Louisiana. What an event for those folks!
Tomorrow’s National Wx Hazards
Rain and snow can be found across the Southeast, while heavier snow falls across the Great Lakes Region. More rain and snow can be found across the Pacific Northwest.
This Week’s Sunday Story
A Historic 2020
The past year was a historic weather year for the plateau.
In March, the most devastating tornado ever recorded in the Upper Cumberlands struck Putnam County. The violent EF-4 twister destroyed dozens of homes and claimed 19 lives. Thankfully, the twister lifted just before reaching the hospital.
This past year was the wettest year in recorded history for the plateau. The official precipitation total for 2020 was an astonishing 75.32 inches! The average annual precipitation for the plateau is about 55 inches.
It was just two years ago that the previous record for annual precipitation was broken. In 2018, the official precipitation record of 74.88 inches of rain was set in Crossville, home of the only official National Weather Service recording station on the plateau. Now, we’ve already broken that record again.
Interestingly, very little of the precipitation in both 2018 and 2020 fell in the frozen form. It’s been a while since the plateau has experienced a widespread significant winter storm.
Globally, temperatures continue to warm and that may hold a few answers as to why we have experienced wetter and stormier weather in recent years. Warmer air holds more moisture and that often leads to higher precipitation amounts. Some of that precipitation falls as gentle rain, and some of that comes in swirling torrents with severe storms.
There are efforts to combat the global rise in temperatures, but they are not without controversy. Microsoft Founder Bill Gates is behind an idea to add calcium carbonate particles, essentially chalk, to the atmosphere to deflect sunlight and cool the world. The first tests of this project are set to begin this year, though these tests are likely to be met with dull enthusiasm, even within the scientific community.
Whatever weather the new year holds let’s all do our best to stay safe, sound, and dry!
