Winter Storm Warning begins at noon
snOMG! Charleston is looking at its first appreciable snowfall in over ten years this evening as a low pressure system develops and moves northeast, paralleling the coast and drawing in the necessary cold air to create what could be a potentially significant snow event (significant, at least, for our area — this will be no DC blizzard). NWS is forecasting up to 6″ inland — up from the 4″ expected yesterday. It’s very likely the wintry precipitation will reach the coast, so we do expect to see at least a rain/snow mix downtown. Confidence is very high in the forecast, as the forecast models have excellent agreement for a snow event across most of the state.
While we don’t expect this event to snow people in, it is anticipated that travel will be hairy starting this afternoon through tomorrow. NWS released a safety statement a little while ago with some winter weather safety tips.
We’ll be watching as the storm approaches throughout the day. Tag your photos and posts with #chswx and they’ll show up in the Collecta widget in the sidebar.
Jared Smith 5:35 pm on February 12, 2010 Permalink
Snow reports are rolling in throughout the area. We’ve not yet seen anything in Charleston County, but I suspect that will change soon as snow is starting to mix with rain in Goose Creek. It’s been snowing around Moncks Corner and northward for a couple hours now. This transition will continue through 6 PM.
There are some concerns that inland locations may see even more than 6″ of snow this afternoon, as there are some bits of energy moving east that have enhanced snowfall in some locations in Alabama and Georgia. This situation is continuing to develop and tough to pin.
Regardless of what happens, travel will be tough over the next day. There may be some freezing drizzle overnight, causing some incredibly slick roads. There also is the potential for black ice and refreezing of melted snow overnight Saturday, as temperatures won’t get very high into the 40s.
Stay tuned — this is going to be a fascinating Friday!