Will it or won’t it snow in Dixie?

Very busy day today so I have to keep it brief. This morning’s model runs were generally pushing the forecast storm system for early next week further south and east and as a result a lot less in the way for the potential for snow in the South although there were some differences among the individual models and their solutions. This is not uncommon with weather models and I expect we will see more in the ways of swings in the solutions. Here is an example of the differences in the models as these are the two American models for next Monday at 6 PM.

This system continues to be a watcher and a threat for wintry precipitation, possibly heavy, for portions of Dixieland. This will just have to be monitored. One thing I am confident is that it will likely rain across much of the south and likely will change over to a period of snow before ending from AR-AL. The BIG question will be if a heavy band of precipitation will move northward into the cold air before the system pulls the precipitation shield eastward. I will give my first stab at things tomorrow.

Could the Next Major Winter Event Affect the Deep South?

Now that the major ice/snow storm has moved across the country the past few days, attention is turning to the potential for a major winter weather event for portions of the Deep South, northeastward up along the spine of the Appalachians Sunday night through Tuesday. As a result, this could be a major player for the TN Valley region.



Modeling data is indicating that this system could become a very large event with blizzard conditions possible across a large swath of the eastern U.S. Models have been consistent for the past 3 days in showing this possible event; however, they have varied on exact track and strength of the system.

Here is a look at this morning’s American long-range model, the GFS. It is for Noon on Monday. A Gulf low has formed and is forecast to track NE and with it is abundant moisture. Additionally, a pool of cold air is sinking southward out of the center of the country. Together, a band of heavy snow is likely. The BIG question is where? Remember this is just one solution and more are to come and this is completely based on just this model image.



Since it is still more than 3 days away and several other solutions of the models are sure to be depicted, confidence on specifics is extremely low. For the latest please check back often, watch WAAY 31news, or the Storm Force 31 Weather website.

Let the Clean Up Begin

The major winter storm that has been impacting a large swath of the nation is winding down along and west of I-65. Here are some reports of the affects of the storm so far and pictures from the National Weather Service (NWS).

•Paducah Power System reports 19,000 of their 22,000 customers without power and estimating 3 to 5 days in order to restore power
•Communications outages were being reported in the Paducah area with the outages even impacting the NWS. Most NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts from the Paducah office are off the air. In addition, several other NWS offices are reporting NOAA Weather Radio Outages, too.
•Around 1” of ice accretion occurred across the Paducah Region
•Snow/Sleet Accumulations around the St. Louis Region:
o Nashville, IL (9.5”)
o Webster Groves, MO; Barnhart, MO (8.0”)
o Collinsville, IL (7.2”)
o Oakville, MO (7.1”)
o Farmington, MO (6.7”)
o Hillsboro, MO; Ellisville, MO (6.5”)
o St. Charles, MO; Lake St. Louis, MO; Dupo, IL; St. Peters, MO; O’Fallon, MO; Arnold, MO (6.0”)
•Since late Monday when this event began, Indianapolis, IN has received 12.5” of snow tying it as the 6th largest snow storm on record for Indianapolis.
•Ameren is reporting 34,000 without power in Missouri, most in SE MO. Nearly everyone in Stoddard, Pemiscot and New Madrid Counties in MO are without power.
•Entergy reports more than 106,000 customers are without power in AR and the AR Electric Co-Op has 185,000 customers without power.
•This is the worst ice storm since 1980 for the Dallas-Ft. Worth area states Gilbert Aquilar of the Dallas Street Services
•140 morning flights out of DFW Airport were cancelled by American Airlines this morning.
•AT&T is reporting a large outage affecting their cellular customers in south central KY and north central TN due to several towers being down, likely due to a long term loss of power.
•More than 2000,000 power customers across KY are without power. Of that number, 100,000 are Kentucky Utilities customers and 57,000 are Blue Grass Energy customers.
•KY’s governor has declared a state of emergency and the National Guard has begun to assist state crews in removing trees blocking roadways
•137,000 power customers across the Evansville area are without power.





The storm will continue to push east and by tonight the event will be almost completely done except for up in New England.

Please, if you have any photos of the snow and ice in your area that you would like to share please email them me at dopplerdalewx@gmail.com . Make sure to include your name, location and any amount info so that I may include it. Thank you in advance.

Major Winter Storm Pushes East

A major winter storm is on going across a large portion of the nation along and south of I-70 from KS-MD and along and north of I-40 from TX-TN. A majority of the precipitation is in the form of freezing rain and sleet with some snow on the northern edge of the precipitation shield.

Additional significant icing is likely from NE TX-eastern OK-northern AR/KY-southern MO/IL/IN/OH and extreme western TN through Wednesday. A significant band of icing with additional ice accumulation of 1+” is likely from NE OK through southern MO and along the OH River into southwestern OH. Further north, heavy snow is likely from St. Louis ENE through central IN, northern OH and into New England where a max band of 8” to 12” of snow is likely from Nashville, IL-Bloomington, IN-Dayton, OH-Cleveland, OH-Albany, NY.

Out ahead of this major winter storm is some very mild air. As of 11 AM Tue, here in NE Huntsville, the temperature is 69. Temperatures across the Huntsville area will likely top 70 this afternoon while just north on the other side of the cold front in Nashville, temperatures will struggle in the mid 30s. This colder air will rush into northern AL on Wednesday and lingering precipitation will likely change over to some sleet and snow showers.

If you are experiencing any of the winter weather with this storm system and have a picture you would like to share please email them to me at dopplerdalewx@gmail.com . Please make sure to include your name and the location of the picture and any additional information such as the amount of accumulation being shown. I am especially interested in icing photos, too. Please note some of these photos may also be used on air during a newscast for WAAY-TV. Thank you in advance for your support and willingness to share your photos.