Region upgraded to winter storm warning, more snow predicted

If you don’t have to travel, then you should probably stay home. That was one of the recurring themes of a news conference held by the National Weather Service in Paducah late Thursday afternoon.

According to meteorologist Justin Gibbs, the current system being tracked isn’t showing much fluctuation in the different models being used for forecast.

“This system is being pretty well behaved as far as not throwing in any surprises, at this point,” Gibbs remarked. “We have a higher degree of confidence than normal with what we are forecasting for this.”

The only change throughout the past few days has been the forecasted amount of snow. Initially, the NWS was predicting 4-5 inches for the Southeast Missouri area. The forecast now stands at a predicted 7 inches of possible snowfall.

“There might be a little of sleet in there in some places,” Gibbs noted. “But not very much at all. So far, what we are consistently seeing is snow”

The snow is predicted to start falling at 10 p.m. Thursday night and throughout the day Friday.

“We are predicting the snow will end somewhere between 3 and 6 p.m.” Gibbs remarked. “It will likely be a heavy and wet snow, with a little bit of dry and powdery snow mixed in. And that could be a problem for some areas that lost power from the previous storm.”

Gibbs went on to explain that heavy and wet snow can accumulate and cause more stress on power lines and tree limbs.

“If you live in an area that lost power or still might have ice on the lines from a few days ago, then that could be a cause for concern,” Gibbs stated. “The temperatures are expected to remain below freezing. This snow will probably be a slow melt. We could have it on the ground for a few days.”

Gibbs explained the sub-surface temperature is below freezing, which will slow the melting process for any winter precipitation.

“The snow is expected to accumulate quickly,” Gibbs advised. “We don’t anticipate facing any blizzard conditions where there will be zero visibility, but the snowfall will be constant from Thursday night throughout the day on Friday, into Friday evening.”

Gibbs said that volume of snowfall — which is predicted for the entire bootheel region — is uncommon for the area, and will likely lead to hazardous travel conditions.

“I know that road crews are out preparing the road surfaces as we speak, but some of the areas around here aren’t well-equipped to handle large amounts of snow. So, it is definitely advised to stay home and not travel if you don’t have to,” he said.

Gibbs explained that travel will be impacted from Southeast Missouri into Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois.

“This really is a large area to be hit substantially by the same system,” Gibbs remarked. “There may be some of us at the NWS who will need to plan on spending the night at the office Friday night. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

For those that do need to travel, Gibbs said to practice extreme caution and to look out for other hazards if a road is mostly clear. He explained that black ice can form quickly on roadways at night and still be a potential threat in the morning hours.

“As the snowfall diminishes, there will be another cold front blowing in behind it just to kind of finish everything off,” Gibbs said. “So, it’s best to be prepared and don’t go anywhere you don’t have to go.”