Hazardous Driving Conditions
10:30pm seemed to be the bewitching hour for road surface temperatures to drop below freezing and ice to form:
Jenna Prock shot this scene from Sumner County around 10:30. It shows a light coating of snow on Hwy 109 between Portland and Gallatin in Sumner County.
It was trickier black ice in much of Davidson County that triggered more than 75 accidents in an hours time between 10:30 and 11:30pm.
We will continue to get scattered, occassional snow showers with light coatings of snow on already ice-covered roadways. Don’t go out unless absolutely necessary.
Davidson County school officials will make a decision about Wednesday by 4am. Join News 2 this morning at 4 for the latest on school closings and traffic troubles.
While it is a headache and worse for drivers, others are having a little fun in the light snow:
A little snow angel fun in Springfield!
Snow Showers Continue
Ryan’s dusting in Hickman County
Show showers at dusk in Stewart County
A dusting in Springfield
As you can see some areas already have a dusting of snow, but the snow is melting as soon as it falls in others.
The temperature dropped to 32 degrees by 8pm in Nashville… many areas north & some west of town have been at freezing or below since sunset.
Even though the snow may not continue to be steady overnight, we can still expect the occassional showers to add a little more to the ground.
Some schools have already made the call to close on Wednesday. Click on the School Closings Bus on the right-hand side of the homepage for updated information.
The dusting to an inch forecast still looks good. That doesn’t mean everyone will get the inch…. some areas will get just a dusting.
Snow Showers On The Way For This Evening & Overnight
As we have been saying, it won’t be a “big” snow, but it might be enough to make for slippery roads tonight and for Wednesday morning’s rush hour commute. During this evening’s rush hour commute, temps will still be above freezing, with the snow arriving in Nashville towards the end of drive time. Within an hour or so after dark, roads could become slippery, especially bridges and overpasses.
We still think that by morning most of us will have a dusting to 1/2″ with some spots up to 1″, especially east of Nashville. The Plateau could see 2″.
Follow the snow showers as they move southeastward down I-24 on the Regional Radar Loop.
Some rough estimated times of arrival:
Clarksville: Between 4:30pm & 6:00pm
Nashville: Between 5:30pm & 7:00pm
Murfreesboro: 6:00-8:00pm
Times are subject to change in radar pictures.
There could be some school closings tomorrow morning, so check with News 2 @ 10pm tonight and News 2 This Morning starting at 4:00am.
Much colder temps, Light snow expected
Gusty northwest winds will bring much colder air into the Mid-State region this afternoon and into the evening, changing the light rain seen this morning to light snow.
Northwest winds will range from 15 to 25 miles-per-hour with gusts to 35 miles-per-hour.
Light snow will be falling through the evening commute, although the roads will be wet and major problems are not anticipated.
As the temperature continues to drop, accumulation is possible overnight, especially on the Cumberland Plateau.
Wind chills could reach as low as the single digits at times Tuesday night.
Area schools may be closed or delayed Wednesday. Click HERE to view up-to-the-minutes school closings and delays.
Capture and share winter weather pictures and video — Email pix@wkrn.com.
Warm Morning to Winter Afternoon
We’ll have a strong northwest wind drop the temperatures through the day. We started the morning in the upper 50’s and will spend the afternoon in the upper 30’s with snow flying in the air. This evening we could watch the snow intensity briefly increase and perhaps recieve a dusting in the Nashville area. The more east you go the better chances of seeing some accumulating snow- by the time you reach the plateau the snow amounts could approach 2″. This isn’t the way we get our big snows but this year we’ll take what we can get. Notice how Predictor keeps the flakes flying through the evening hours and overnight.
Mild To Cold: Mixed Bag of Weather
We’ve got lots to talk about, so let’s get to it:
First of all, after a mild afternoon, we are expecting a line of showers and storms to push in by around midnight through the early morning hours. This does not look like a widespread severe weather situation, but we should expect some gusty winds and lightning and thunder overnight. Some of the storms, especially in southwest and south Middle Tennessee may prompt a few brief severe thunderstorm warnings. With low pressure passing just to our north and a strong upper jet, this could have been a more dangerous situation. But it does not look like the atmosphere will have a chance to become “primed” enough here. I’m not complaining about that. We will be monitoring the situation for any changes. Here is the Storm Prediction Center’s Convective Outlook.
Then the cold air pushes in. On Tuesday look for a morning high in the low 40s with temps falling through the 30s during the day. From noon on we could see some snow showers pushing in from the northwest as an upper level trough rides over the cold and still moist air. This should result in some snow showers Tuesday afternoon, evening and Wednesday morning. This type of situation does not result in a “big” snow, but could provide a dusting to 1/2″ in many areas with up to an inch in some, especially northern and eastern counties. Up on the plateau near Crossville it could be 1-2″.
We could have snow falling during Tuesday evening’s rush hour commute. Temps will be falling to below freezing pretty quickly by dark, and that could result in some slick spots on the roadways Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Wednesday morning should bring lows in the mid 20s, so the morning rush hour could be a problem then, as well. It’s possible there will be some school closings on Wednesday, depending on how it all pans out. Maybe the kids will have just enough to build a snowman.
Will We Get Winter… For a Week?
Still waiting patiently for the clouds to break this morning and the warm up to begin. Was tempted to undercut my current forecast of 58 two degrees since the last two runs of the RUC (Rapid Update Model) turned less optimistic. Had a chat with John Cohen over the NWS (the morning shift forecaster today) and almost added two degrees when he finished looking at some of the early returns of the 12z sounding (they release a radiosonde at 6am and 6pm everyday at OHX). The clouds should start breaking at 46 degrees or so and we’ll be well on the way to a nice afternoon.
John drew my attention to the latest GFS run showing a strong Low digging very deep into the deep south next Tuesday. This sets in place some cold air that lingers through the rest of the week with another weaker northern low moving north of us in the wake of the big one. That gives us about two chances of snow packed into 3 days.
Long range modeling in the ten-day window is more like trend spotting but it certainly is a nice looking snow maker. Perhaps we’ll have to wait to the last gasps of winter (the early-March-window) to get our one good snow that I’ve be predicting since we rolled into this warm and wet winter back in December.
A Little Warmer
This will be the warmest day we’ve had in about a week. We should reach into the upper 50’s today even enjoy a little bit of sunshine late morning into early afternoon. But the next system is right back in tonight; expect some strong winds and sometimes heavy rains tonight as a few storms sweep into middle Tennessee. A cold front pushes through tomorrow morning and temperatures start to fall. By noon temperatures will be falling down to the upper 30’s with the light rain changing over to light snow. There could be a little accumulation on the rim and plateau, a dusting elsewhere.
This is how wet Predictor looks in the middle of night:
Cool Night, Warm Up Monday, Then Showers & Storms Followed By Snow Showers
After some morning sleet on Sunday, temps warmed to the low 40s by afternoon with some leftover showers. Tonight, skies will be mostly cloudy with a few breaks in the overcast after midnight. Temps should drop to around 30-32, but all precipitation should be gone by then. Then, temps warm up on Monday. The high should approach 60 by the afternoon on the heels of a southerly breeze and some sunshine. Monday night a line of showers and a few storms will push through with a strong cold front. Although there will be a few storms embedded in the line, no severe weather is anticipated.
Then the cold air gushes in! On Tuesday we should see a morning high of around 40 with temps dropping through the 30s during the day. By Tuesday afternoon, an upper level disturbance will drop in with the cold air. This should produce some snow flurries and snow showers Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning. It won’t be one of those big snows, but I think that some areas could see a dusting to 1/2″ by Wednesday morning, with up to an inch in our eastern counties from around Center Hill Lake eastward onto the Plateau.
Sunday Forecast
Scattered sprinkles are pushing across Middle Tennessee this morning. Temperatures in Nashville are above freezing, but other areas are near 32 degrees so watch out for isolated slick spots away from the city. In southern Kentucky we have indications that the precipitation is a mix of rain and sleet and perhaps even snow.
The action will continue through mid-morning north of I-40, but elsewhere we’ll watch for a few breaks in the clouds this morning. Predictor suggests that the clouds thicken up this afternoon, even calling for an additional rain shower south of I-40 later today.
Temperatures will climb into the middle 40s this afternoon.
Monday looks mild. Highs will reach past 60 degrees as a south wind develops ahead of our next system.
That next system (a cold front) will bring showers and perhaps a thundershower Monday night into early Tuesday. Northwest winds will usher in colder air by Tuesday afternoon; we might even catch a few snow showers Tuesday into Wednesday.
