A wild weather week ahead including the potential for two rounds of winter weather... We're expecting round one this afternoon and tonight. Moisture is increasing from our west in North Louisiana where a wintry mix falling as of late morning. As shallow, arctic air continues slip into Central and South Mississippi we're expecting freezing rain to arrive this afternoon and evening; while this will not be a crippling ice storm, road conditions will deteriorate as roads become icy. The more widespread icing will occur along and north of I-20 with the potential for more than 1 quarter of an inch through Tuesday morning, which could be enough to cause some power outages late tonight. For south Mississippi, amounts will be lighter, but icing on bridges and overpasses will be possible as far south as the Highway 98 corridor. The precipitation ends around mid-morning and as temperatures warm above freezing, travel conditions will improve by late morning and early afternoon.
A second system arrives Wednesday morning; still some uncertainty regarding location and amounts, but confidence is high that measurable snow will fall in parts of the state. As of now, the area along and north of I-20 into North Mississippi is the mostly likely location for significant accumulation with the potential for 1 to 3 inches between I-20 and Highway 82 and more than 4 inches farther north.
This is the latest NAM model, valid noon Wednesday featuring wintry mix along I-20 and snow to the north:
Keep in mind, locations, timing, and amounts can certainly change and this is not written in stone; bottom line, we're in for a very interesting 48 hours, so hang tight.
We'll have the latest information tonight on WLBT and Fox 40. You can also find me on social media: Facebook and Twitter
Michael Haynes
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