Round Two on Monday.

OK, we have finished with round one of this wintry weather event and as usual, the weather pulled a few punches. The snow today worked out about as expected with a dusting to an inch or so at many locations except for the extreme SE counties where as much as 4" has been reported. On the web site there are photos of some of the accidents and snowfall at various locations around the state. There were a few heavier snow bands which created some very hazardous driving conditions this evening, but all that has moved on eastward for tonight. However, this system has left behind a nearly saturated air mass which is below freezing. In these kind of conditions, a freezing fog, freezing mist, or a freezing drizzle often occurs which will leave a film of ice on exposed surfaces. So, even those areas that did not get any snow will still have hazardous driving conditions for the rest of the night.

Then, there is round two which will be arriving during the day Monday. This will be an all snow event with some light snow expected to be moving in from the west by morning and becoming widespread and moderate at times during the day. The primary impacts from this system will be over the more northern counties and into Kansas where some locations may receive 4 inches or more. Locally, we are expecting another 1-3" for most locations with a few locally heavier amounts certainly possible before it all ends from west to east Monday night. These will be small, fine grained snow flakes so it will take awhile for it to accumulate. Locations along and south of I-40 will likely only receive a dusting to perhaps another inch on top of what they already have.

After that, it will be just plain cold. We will not get above freezing again till perhaps Thursday afternoon and possibly not till Friday afternoon. The winds together with the cold will produce dangerously low wind chill values for Tuesday and Wednesday when we may see some readings at or below zero.

Temperatures will be moderating as we head into the coming weekend, but the longer range guidance has not been very consistent. More cold air will be spilling back over us but there is considerable uncertainty regarding the timing and any precipitation that may accompany that particular system.

In the meantime, stay tuned and check back for updates.

Dick Faurot