Snow, Turning Much Colder

The much anticipated winter weather threat has arrived but not without an early surprise. Temperatures overnight bottomed out at 24 before 3 a.m., but they have actually risen to near freezing now. This warming is due to a wave along an approaching arctic front that stretches from central Indiana to northwest Louisiana. However, the snow flurries that are currently falling across the county should prevent a significant northward surge of the warm bubble of temperatures evident across central Mississippi. Without the snow falling, temperatures would probably rise into the upper 30s as the wave along the front gets closer. It doesn't appear as this current batch of snow will be continuous, and as a result, temperatures will still probably top out near 35 late this morning. More importantly, the snow flurries falling will help to moisten and cool the lowest 5,000 feet of the troposphere as we go through the morning hours.

A more concentrated area of precipitation is ongoing across central Mississippi and this should spread eastward over the course of the day. There may be some sleet mixed with the snow flurries this morning, but I think the overwhelming majority of this event should be all snow. The main snow event should begin after 11 a.m., but accumulations likely won't occur until after noon. I still expect up to an inch of snow to fall around the county. Roadways will likely become slick this afternoon, so please use caution if you'll be traveling. The arctic front should plow through the area after 3 p.m. with snow continuing to fall through 6 p.m. After the snow exits, temperatures will begin to plummet as the arctic air infiltrates the state. In fact, temperatures will fall to near 20 by 11 p.m. Compounding matters will be a tight pressure gradient that will setup late tonight through tomorrow morning. This pressure gradient will allow winds to gust up to 25 mph very early Friday morning, which will put wind chills into the single digits at times. With a fresh snow pack in place, lows tomorrow morning will be near 14.