Another shot of cold air is coming to South Mississippi. That will bring another chance for some wintry weather. Precipitation will start as a mixture of sleet and rain, then change to snow and sleet, then just regular snow.
Forecast
Compared to the snowfall we’ve had this winter, this may feel disappointing.
As a front dives through the area, it will drop light amounts of snow. There shouldn’t be any widespread travel problems south of I-20, but the roads will be wet and slick. Snow totals will be between nothing (just snow in the air) and about two inches. Some of us will see enough snow to accumulate, others will see just flakes.
Nailing down who sees what specifically isn’t accurate enough at this point. I know everyone wants to know how much to expect at their house, but as I always say 99% of the time the forecast is going to be underwhelming and disappointing. We will know more about specifics tomorrow morning.
And kids, I’d recommend you do your homework tonight and tomorrow night. I anticipate that very few – if any schools – will close. More on that below.
The snow could start as early as 4pm for some, but most of us will have to wait until after supper. The flakes will fly, here and there, overnight, and end by 4am Wednesday morning. Notice in the graph below that there is almost an equal chance that we see around 0.1″ of snow and 0.75″ of snow. The most likely scenario is between 0.25″ and 0.5″ of snow. And there is about a one-in-three chance that we see 1.0″ of snow.
The SREF is onboard with most of the other computer weather models, suggesting anywhere from nothing to two inches. Checking the Skew-T data, the NAM computer weather model Skew-T suggests we may be able to squeeze out a bit more snow (maybe three inches of snow) for very few of us. This could be accomplished through a process weather people call “wet-bulbing” for slang. In short, it means the dry air get’s saturated from snow falling through it, and it cools the air down allowing the snow to make it all the way to the ground.
This will be – just like every time it snows down here – a tough forecast to nail down. Please keep checking back for updates.
Whatever falls, won’t be the big story, though, as the front will cool us back down (pretty cold, too). Tuesday night it will get back into the 20s. Wednesday we will barely pass the freezing mark for a high. Then Wednesday night we will be down into the teens.
Impacts
PETS: After they play in the snowflakes, bring ’em in at night! Temperatures will be quite cold Tuesday night and again Wednesday night. No need for your pets to be outside in this kind of cold.
ROADS: There shouldn’t be widespread problems south of I-20. Some county roads, side streets and alleys will probably be pretty slick at times, and overpasses and bridges will be, too. But, generally, the well-travel pavement (main roads, highways, etc) should remain wet, not icy. Then, given how dry the air will be behind this front, the roads will simply dry up.
SCHOOLS: There shouldn’t be many problems for schools or busses given the roads. However, since county roads and bridges will tend to be less-traveled and a bit more apt to see sticking snow and/or ice, there may be some busses that can’t make certain routes. There also may be schools that delay start due to these conditions.
Also, it will be pretty cold out at the bus stop for kids. Make sure they are good and bundled up as they head out the door. Dress ’em up in layers if they refuse to wear a coat. I know I used to wear, like, three sweatshirts and two pants to school in Wisconsin as a kid.
BUSINESSES: Depends on the business, but the roads shouldn’t hinder anyone from getting to work – eventually. Much like the schools, some may have to open a bit late if employees are coming in from county roads.
POWER: While we may see some sleet, or even freezing rain, for a short time, power lines may be affected, but this would be a pretty isolated problem. Widespread power outages are not anticipated. If you end up without power, crews should be able to get on the problem pretty quickly.
WATER: The low temperatures after the snow will be down into the low 20s, so dripping a faucet will become necessary for folks with elevated foundations or in mobile homes. If you have a single floor cement foundation home, opening cabinets below the sinks should be enough to faucets on the interior section of the home, but dripping any faucets where pipes are near an outside wall might be a good idea.
GAS: Shouldn’t see any impacts here as temperatures aren’t going to be cold enough to freeze lines.
OTHER PREPS: Always good to make sure you have some extra blankets on the beds and double check outdoor spigots. Make sure you’ve got a way to keep warm for a while should the power go out.
