Here We Go Again….

Another winter storm is poised to bring North Texas our 4th snow event of the season.

The most memorable storm of the season so far…  the Christmas Eve blizzard that wrecked havoc with holiday travelers. This next storm, while it’s not expected to be as nasty of the Christmas Eve storm..it’s definitely one to watch. The ground is colder now and if snow and a winter mix does fall, it’s more likely to impact not just our bridges and elevated roads, but all roads, especially those less travelled. What we fortunately won’t have are the wild winds.

The models continue to show a slow start to the event. Dry air in the lower levels will keep the snow aloft through much of Wednesday night and Thursday morning. But by Thursday afternoon and evening as the upper low gets closer and lift stronger, we should start to see a steady light snow or winter mix that could begin to accumulate late Thursday and especially Friday morning when I expect any travel problems to be at their worst.

Some of us, could see 1-3″ of snow. The exact track of the upper low is key, but locations hit by  some of the heavier bands could see more. Schools and businesses need to be aware that travel may be dangerous enough by Thursday night and Friday morning to cause closures.

Temperatures will be tricky as they usually are. If the cloud cover holds off until late tonight, we’ll easily drop into the mid 20s. But clouds coming in quickly ahead of the system will trap the cold air tomorrow. The lingering dry air as precip falls into it Wed night and Thursday morning will allow for enough evaporational cooling to keep temps near or below freezing especially along and north of an Eastland to Athens line.

Here’s a graphic from the National Weather Service -Ft. Worth homepage this morning showing the areas that are most likely to see accumulating winter precipitation.

Stay tuned to your favorite local news station for the latest forecast. I’ll be posting an update by Wednesday afternoon giving my take on this next storm.

Then looking ahead to the weekend and early next week…

Once this storm shifts east it will allow another reinforcing shot of cold air to plunge in Sunday morning with possibly a few snow flurries. We will clear out quickly Sunday, but it will continue to remain cold through at least Monday, but at least we’ll see the sun.

Anyone ready for spring?

Tags: winter storm