WPSD Local 6 has activated a Weather Authority Alert for Friday, with accumulating snow expected to create travel impacts for nearly all of our area.
WHEN: Snow will likely move in from the west between midnight and sunrise Friday morning. The heaviest snow will fall Friday morning and afternoon, tapering off from west to east by Friday evening.
WHAT: Accumulating snow, heavy at times, will lead to significant travel impacts for both the morning and evening commutes Friday. Plan for snow covered roads to become slick early Friday morning, and conditions to deteriorate through the day. Slick roads, especially secondary roads, will persist into the weekend. With our recent cold temperatures, snow will be able to quickly accumulate on all surfaces. Temperatures will stay below freezing through this event.
WHERE: A Winter Storm Watch is currently in effect from late Thursday night through Friday night for much of Western Kentucky (except for counties along the Ohio River), all of Northwest Tennessee, and the Missouri Bootheel. Areas in the watch are expected to receive up to 3-5″ of snow. Lesser amounts are expected for areas north of the watch. Snow totals of 1-3″ are expected over much of Southern Illinois and Southeast Missouri, and up to 2-4″ for areas located along the Ohio River in Kentucky.
ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Prior to this event, we will see some extreme cold on Thursday morning. Low temperatures will dip well into the single digits in parts of Southern Illinois that were hardest hit by Sunday’s ice storm. These temperatures will be dangerous for people who are without power. As of Wednesday morning, there are still over 7,000 customers without power in Southern Illinois.
We will likely see most of the watch area upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning later today or tomorrow. We will also likely see a Winter Weather Advisory issued for areas expected to receive the lower snow totals. This is a high confidence forecast, but some minor adjustments to snow totals can still be expected as we get closer to Friday.
Be sure to download the WPSD Radar app and stay with the Weather Authority for the latest on this storm.
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