Snow, cold weather in forecast for next two days

 

Snow is possible, and temperatures are expected to plunge in the Oak Ridge area on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the seven-day forecast by the National Weather Service in Morristown.

The snow is expected starting overnight Monday and continuing into Tuesday morning. The low on Wednesday night is forecast at 9 degrees Fahrenheit.

“An arctic cold front will move across the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians late tonight and Tuesday morning, bringing with it widespread precipitation,” the National Weather Service said in a winter weather advisory. “The precipitation will likely begin as a mixture of rain and snow but quickly transition to all snow around daybreak Tuesday morning. Snow and ice-covered roadways are expected area-wide, causing travel problems.”

A winter storm warning is in effect for the Great Smoky Mountains in Blount, Cocke, Sevier, and southeast Monroe counties from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, with heavy snow expected.

In the Oak Ridge area, rain is likely between 11 p.m. today (Monday, January 28) and 2 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, January 29), and the precipitation could then change to snow, the forecast said. The chance of precipitation is 90 percent, and new snow accumulation of about an inch is possible, the NWS said. The low will be around 28.

Snow continues to be possible through the night and into the morning, mainly before 9 a.m. Tuesday, the Weather Service said. The chance of precipitation is 80 percent, and about one inch of snow is possible.

The temperature will fall to about 24 by 5 p.m. Tuesday. It’s expected to drop to 18 Tuesday night.

The high on Wednesday is forecast at 27, and the low on Wednesday night is expected to be about 9 degrees.

Temperatures are then expected to climb from Thursday through Saturday, with the highs increasing from 31 to 54 and the lows rising from 23 to 39.

Here is the NWS forecast for the Oak Ridge area:

• Monday afternoon: Mostly sunny, with a high near 55. Southwest wind around 10 mph.
• Monday night: Rain likely between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., then snow. Low around 28. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
• Tuesday: Snow, mainly before 9 a.m. Temperature falling to around 24 by 5 p.m. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
• Tuesday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 18. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph after midnight.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 27. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the afternoon.
• Wednesday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 9.
• Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 31.
• Thursday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23.
• Friday: A chance of snow before 11 a.m., then a chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 45. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent.
• Friday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 34.
• Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54.
• Saturday night: A 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.

The National Weather Service said a very dangerous and life-threatening arctic air mass is expected in the United States this week.

“Back-to-back cold fronts will slice through the eastern two-thirds of the country to deliver one of the coldest arctic air intrusions in recent memory, especially from the Upper Midwest to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley,” the NWS said. “From Tuesday through Thursday, expect frigid temperatures and bitterly cold wind chills, likely leading to widespread record lows and low maximum temperatures. Be weather smart.”

See the seven-day forecast for Oak Ridge here.

See the winter weather advisory here.

See the hazardous weather outlook here.

You can read about cold weather safety here.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

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