Rain & Snow Ahead of An Arctic Blast

Good morning, folks and happy Monday!! Once again, whose ready to tackle another week with me as the forecast is calling for some rain transitioning to some snow ahead of an Arctic blast.

Today’s Rain/Snow Setup

Waking up and heading out the door for your morning commute, you will be greeted by cloudy skies, associated with a cold front, moves closer to the area from the northwest. Temperatures, as you head out the door, will be in the middle 40s. Ahead of this incoming cold front, temperatures will slowly rise into the middle-to-upper 50s during the late morning and early afternoon hours.

The cold front currently off to the north and northwest of the Ohio River Valley will push towards the WABBLES heading into the afternoon hours.

Forcing and lift along the cold front will start bringing precipitation to the area during the afternoon hours. The precipitation will start out as rain for most of the afternoon, as temperatures at and just above the surface will remain above freezing, supporting liquid precipitation.

As the cold front passes over the area and the wind shifts to the northwest, temperatures will begin to drop. Temperatures drop to around the freezing mark during the evening hours. At some point temperatures across the southeast side of the WABBLES region could be 10 degrees warmer than temperatures on the northwest side of the region. Now, folks, that is one heck of a FROPA (Frontal Passage)!!

The cold air that will filter in behind the front will help support that transition of rain to snow. Yes, I said snow. No, you won’t need to stock up on milk, food, and water.

Yes, the flakes will fly during the late evening and overnight hours, but the snow that will fall will not accumulate a whole lot. The reasoning behind that:

1. Road surfaces and soil temperatures across the area are well into the 50s, likely causing the snow to melt on contact and making it hard to accumulate.
2. Accumulation will be light to moderate, with light to moderate snowfall rates, it is extremely difficult for snow to accumulate, especially on the warm road and soil surfaces.
3. Not a lot of strong forcing, lift, and moisture along the cold front, which ultimately limits snowfall rates and accumulation.

Impacts

Total snow amounts should hold around 1″ or less, IF anything at all. Any accumulations will likely be in grassy, higher elevated areas.

Please be mindful and aware of any slick spots on any bridges or overpasses, especially on your Monday night/Tuesday morning commutes.

COLD air on Tuesday

Heading out the door on Tuesday, I would advise you to dress warm for that morning commute. Cold air over the Canadian Prairies of Saskatchewan “The Land of the Living Skies” and Manitoba “The Postage Stamp Province” begins to really filter into the area.

Temperatures during the morning hours will hover in the upper teens to lower 20s, with wind chills possibly dropping into the single digits. Bundle up out there, folks!

That wraps up your Monday wxornotBG forecast, thanks for tuning in and I hope you all have a great day! Make sure you look for further updates on our live weather feed @wxornotbg!