We have finally made it through the early-week winter system and in the aftermath, roads are a mess. A mixture of heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain made for dangerous driving last night. Even without falling precipitation, roads will take a while to be free of what we have on them. This can be attributed to the bitter cold air in place.
Morning lows are running in the teens and with the 5-15 mph wind out there this morning, wind chills dip into the single digits. If you plan do be outside, even if just around the yard clearing snow/sleet from the sidewalks and driveways. Multiple counties that had the ice yesterday are waking up to a loss of power. This was expected. With the break in precipitation, crews will have the opportunity to get out and start restoring power.
The rest of the day, you can expect roads to be dangerous with a thick layer of snow, sleet, and ice. Don’t venture out if you don’t need to. If you do, AWD or 4WD will be beneficial.
Looking ahead, cold air hangs with us for the rest of the week. Flurries are possible from time to time, but not expected to drop more than a trace or dusting around the forecast area. All eyes are on Thursday as the next winter storm makes an approach. Models are showing a more southerly track with this particular storm, which could mean more snow than wintry mix. However, there will be areas that do get the mix and more freezing rain is in the mix. The dividing line between the snow and mix will migrate over the next few days so just like last storm, numbers and precipitation amounts will change day-to-day.
Best way to prepare for this is to keep watching and checking the weather reports to see what the latest trends are in model.
