NWS: Wintry mix after midnight, to end by daybreak; road impact minimal

Jared Smith — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:43:32 +0000

While the expected wintry precipitation early Friday morning has already put some schools on a delay, the forecast is shaping up to be such that the biggest risk on the road tomorrow in the Charleston metro are drivers who are distracted by the snow. The key: Temperatures will not fall below freezing here, so no snow is expected to stick to the ground, nor will any of the wintry mix refreeze. Precipitation is expected to be fairly light so the roads shouldn’t even get terribly slick, and after the front comes through, things will dry out very quickly. Things will also stay pretty chilly; we’ll be lucky to get over 40 tomorrow.

If you get cool pictures, post them to the service of your choice using the #chswx tag so they’ll show up in this search.

Winter weather possible overnight into Friday morning

Jared Smith — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:15:37 +0000

NWS has us pegged for a slight chance of wintry precipitation tonight — and as you can imagine, that’s generated a bit of buzz in the area. The best chance for wintry precipitation is primarily inland, as the latest forecast models expect that it will be warmer over the coastal areas than previously thought, and may be warm enough that any precipitation there is all rain. It won’t be much, and it certainly won’t be cold enough for any snow to stick in most places. There is some concern for black ice inland — probably not in the Charleston metro area, but possibly further inland into Dorchester and Berkeley counties.

From the NWS:

…A LIGHT MIX OF RAIN/ICE PELLETS. THEN LIGHT SNOW LATE
FROM W TO E WITH MAINLY RAIN ALONG THE NEAR COASTAL AREAS OUTSIDE
OF ANY SLEET MIX AT TIMES. TOWARD DAWN ON FRI…WHATEVER MOISTURE
LEFT IN LOCATIONS BORDERING E CENTRAL GEORGIA AND THE SOUTHERN
MIDLANDS APPEARS TO FALL AS SOME FLURRIES BUT WE CONTINUE TO LOOK
FOR A LIGHT NON-ACCUMULATING BRIEF WINTRY MIX EVENT AHEAD OF THE
ARCTIC FRONT. DESPITE THE LIGHT AMOUNTS EXPECTED…A FEW PATCHES OF
ICE/BLACK ICE ON AREA ROADWAYS…MAINLY INLAND STILL MAY BE POSSIBLE
TOWARD DAWN ON FRI. THIS TREND SHOULD BECOME CLEARER AS THE PRECIP
TIMING BECOMES MORE EVIDENT LATER TODAY OR EARLY THIS EVENING.

I’ll update this thread as things become clearer throughout the day.

Charleston Weather » sleet

NWS: Wintry mix after midnight, to end by daybreak; road impact minimal

Winter weather possible overnight into Friday morning