Author: Meteorologist Mark

Weather Headlines

–Any wintry mix on the plateau will be all rain by late morning

–More rain is expected for Friday

–Sunday is looking pretty good at this point

–The next rain-maker arrives Monday night/Tuesday

Main threats

No significant threats in sight.

Summary

We have some light precip falling across parts of the plateau this morning. Don’t be surprised to see some snow flakes mixed in with that. Temps should warm to the mid 30s by late morning, changing any mix to all rain showers.

The next rain-maker will arrive Friday. That should lead to a soggy end of our week. Any precip that remains for Saturday will be light and should be in the liquid form.

Then, it looks like we may be in store for a nice Sunday! Let’s hope that forecast holds true.

Clouds will be on the increase once again for our Monday, with rain developing by evening (if not sooner).

Next week is looking mild but wet.

Almanac

Baldwin’s 7-Day forecast

Records

The greatest one-day snowfall to ever fall on the city of Nashville fell on this day in 1905. The city recorded 8.5 inches of snow that day.

Strong winds through mountain passes led to unbelievable wind chill factors across parts of Alaska on this day in 1989. In Cantwell, Alaska the wind chill factor dropped to 120 degrees below zero at one point! I’ve included a map below for reference to Cantwell’s location (red marker). This way you can be sure you don’t end up there in the winter. (haha)

Wednesday Word of the Day

Bombogenesis

A popular and generic term for the rapid strengthening of an area of low pressure. NOAA classifies a storm as having undergone bombogenesis when the barometric pressure has dropped 24 millibars within 24 hours. This leads to another popular and generic word, “bombcyclone.”

This happens quite often with East Coast storms (ie. Nor’easters). When cold, arctic air comes into contact with the warm Gulf Stream Current, rapid intensification can take place with any storm in the vicinity of that collision.

NASA Knowledge

Astronomers using data primarily from the Chandra X-ray Observatory are getting a better understanding of the coming collision of four galaxy clusters. Eventually, the four clusters will merge and become the most massive object in the universe!

Galaxy clusters are the largest structures we observe in space and are held together by gravity. This latest discover, made in 2004, shows four cluster about three billion light years from Earth.

In the image below, the top pair (in blue) have already passed close to each other once and are well on their way to colliding. That first pass was about 300 million years ago. The bottom pair will be passing by each other for the first time soon.

Wx Hazards Across the Nation

News

You all have a great day!

Radar is beginning to show some echoes of moisture in southwest Middle TN. That activity is moving our way. These initial echoes on radar will have a tough time reaching the ground before evaporating. Never the less, as we go through the night, and near the morning hours of Wednesday, we should start to see some of that very light precip making it to the ground. Keep in mind, sometimes these events are so light that little to nothing makes it to the ground.

Since temps will be at or slightly below freezing all night, any precip that falls could be in the form of a light wintry mix. That could accumulate to a glaze or dusting in places, which could be enough to make some slick spots on the roads in the morning. Just be aware of that. This should be in the form of very light snow/snow flurries but if freezing drizzle or sprinkles get in the mix that could make things trickier.

As of now, the NWS in Nashville does not feel it’s necessary to issue any kind of winter weather advisories. They just don’t feel there will be enough moisture to cause travel problems. I agree, so long as freezing drizzle or some freezing sprinkles don’t mix in.

Looking at the bigger picture, you can see there’s not a whole lot of moisture to work with and the bulk of the moisture should stay just to our south, as this system moves east.

This is by no means a winter storm, but it is something you need to be mindful of in the morning.

You all have a good night!

Many of us are nerding out this afternoon, watching how clearly the circulation with our next system shows up in the Red River Valley along the Oklahoma/Texas border. That is the system that will bring us a wintry mix in the morning. How cool is that on satellite?

The system is kicking up some moisture and that moisture will run into some colder air here on the plateau late tonight and into Wednesday morning. Some of that precip could fall as a light wintry mix. Be careful if you’re out and about later tonight and/or Wednesday morning. It’s not looking like it will amount to much, but it only takes a little to cause problems.

I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye on this and will update again later this evening, after all the newest data has come in. Again, this isn’t looking like a big deal but we don’t need a lot of wintry precip to cause problems.

The other big story this afternoon is the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that has occurred in the Caribbean. This may be the most powerful quake ever recorded in that region. Thankfully, it was away from major land masses and occurred about six miles below the surface of the earth. The tsunami threat appears to be very minimal. Still, the quake was felt all the way to Miami. Seismographs recorded shock waves as far north as Connecticut.

I’ll keep an eye on our snow chances for tonight!

You all have a great afternoon and evening!