Snow, ice threat grows for possible late week winter storm

enero 6, 2025

Hi everyone. The threat for snow and ice in the deep South continues to grow as we go into this week. Hi, everybody. I’m Chief Meteorologist Chris Justice. This system could impact millions with snow and ice. Here’s what the European shows. It’s one of many that are showing this threat. If you are new to this channel, please consider going ahead and liking this video. Let me know where you’re watching from. That helps me so much. Subscribe to this channel if you don’t already, and turn on. Notifications. All of us here at WYFF News 4 are going to keep you posted when it comes to severe weather and especially this time of the year, the chance for wintry weather. So let’s back up and talk about system number one that’s moving in tonight. You can see on my monitors to, uh, either side of me here. We’ve got snow moving into western North Carolina. It’s going to change over to ice as we go into the overnight hours, but *** blockbuster ice event, unfortunately, Holding right now for many states in the United States and we’ve got to watch this one closely because this is what opens the door for more to come later this week. Millions under winter storm warnings. We’ve got blizzard warnings back here toward Kansas. This is *** big time blockbuster system and unfortunately, this is one of two, at least that will impact the United States this week. There’s also *** severe. Concern down here toward Arkansas, Louisiana, East Texas, there are tornado watches on the southern warm sector side of this. So what’s going to unfold tonight? Well, let’s unpack it here for you. Some snow moved into the mountains of North Carolina tonight. It changes over to ice. The reason being is there’s *** warm pocket of air in the upper parts of the atmosphere. So that snow falls and melts falls as rain, but but at the surface, it’s 32 or below, so it. It lands as ice and coats everything. That’s honestly the worst precipitation you can get in winter time. As we look up toward the Midwest here, uh, this is *** big time system from Ohio toward, uh, Minnesota, uh, back through parts of Indiana, into Kentucky, ice and snow, the big deal with this one. It’s going to leave *** path of at least 4 to 5 inches of snow with Some higher amounts here in the 9 to 12-inch range, but you throw on top of that, on the southern side of that big snow swath, you have snow and ice. Look at some of these numbers here in Kentucky. 0.5 inch to 1 inch back towards Southern Indiana and Ohio. This is *** big time system and it’s moving toward the east. As we look at the eastern facing slopes of western North Carolina from Bee Mountain, Boone, those southern sides are going to be slick. Now, it’s not too early to turn our attention to the one you’re probably tuning in for, which is the possibility of more widespread snow and ice moving into the latter half of this week. We’ve got *** new outlook here from the Weather Prediction Center, which now has *** more advanced look for. And precipitation. This would be an inch or more of liquid equivalent of snow or ice. So the possibility is growing and, you know, these threats are time-based. So now that we’re 5 days out, it’s not that, so there’s *** 30% chance to *** 50% chance of ice or snow in these areas, including the upstate of South Carolina. It’s saying that based on the time frame that we’re at, here’s what’s happening. And being that we’re 5 days out, that’s *** pretty, um, That’s *** pretty good threat, unfortunately, that’s *** pretty severe threat. Let’s map it out for you. So first system comes through, cools us down. It’s about to get very cold this week. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, kind of the setting the stage time frame. Highs are going to be in the 30s to around 40 and most Communities along the I-5 corridor. It’s gonna be very cold towards Central Florida. Many of you have seen, uh, some of the, the numbers coming out of Florida for Disney World. We’re talking 30s. It’s gonna be very cold in Sarasota, Tampa, Panhandle of Florida like Panama City Beach, Destin. Now we await, now that we know it’s cold, we await the system to come our way, which the models have been hinting in some form or fashion I’ve been telling you about for *** week now. Here we are Friday mid-morning. This European model shows light snow developing across the upstate of South Carolina, North Georgia, and Western North Carolina. It brings in more moisture, just not *** lot. Notice how the low is rather weak. It’s *** 10-12 low. My general rule of thumb is anything above 1000, that would be *** weaker low. *** higher pressure is *** weak or low pressure. Does that make sense? So it’s *** weaker system, the higher that number is. If it’s above 1000, it has *** hard time sending back *** ton of moisture into this dry, cold air. Nonetheless, it does on this model, and it shows that 1012 low, possibly becoming *** 1,0008 millibar low off the coast of South Carolina, and then it kind of spits it out. Even though that is *** weaker solution of our three most reliable computer models, it still paints out. About 1 inch of snow in Anderson Abbyville, Greenwood. It paints about 1 to 2 inches of snow on the ID5 corridor, 2 to 4 inches from ID5 into the northern parts of the upstate, including Charlotte, including Atlanta. Then you get up into the mountains where Hendersonville northbound would see 3 to 5 inches. And again, this is the. more subdued low pressure system of our three most reliable computer models. It does not show as much ice on the European model today. Let’s just scrub that through. This is the first ice event coming through tonight. Then you add in *** little glaze, 0.1 of an inch on on top of some snow. That would be messy, but not the blockbuster ice event that the European Showed yesterday or that the GFS model shows today. So let’s just dig in deeper because folks as *** meteorologist that uh is responsible, and I have to do that on TV and on social media just, just like I would if I were on the 6 o’clock broadcast tonight. I’m not just gonna go and say it’s gonna snow. Anybody can tell you that, but *** deeper dive tells me that out of 51. Runs of our European model. Almost every single one of them shows snow in some form or fashion in the upstate. The average is sitting at about 1.5 inches. Being that we’re 5 days out, that’s *** pretty decent, it’s basically saying 45 out of 50 of these models are showing that the ground will be covered by Friday night into Saturday morning. How about the probability? If you’re *** different person and want to see kind of things laid out in *** different kind of way, let me show you your key. This shows you that in this light blue to light green, sits somewhere in this 40% range. So the European model showing, being that we’re 5 days out, we’re gonna go and throw out *** 40% chance of snow or ice that will coat the ground in in excess of an inch. OK, that jumps up to *** 100% chance, Asheville northbound and certainly here for the Midwest. So that’s the European’s depiction. How about the American model? I’m gonna just show you one model that’s gonna show you the most threatening. I dive into all of them. And if you appreciate that, please consider liking this video and subscribing. I, I, I take my job seriously whether I’m on TV or here online with you, and I like our, our two-way conversation. So please also let me know where you’re watching from in the comment section. GFS has another low pressure coming our way. It’s stronger off the bat. You can see *** 1,0005 millibar low pressure system. It spits in snow widespread into the afternoon of Friday, one of those days where the kids, some school districts let them go to school and then, and then they get out about halfway through the day. Don’t you remember those days growing up? It was kind of magical, right? You get all excited, uh, teachers will throw on *** movie in the morning just to kind of pass the time because who’s concentrating on that? Whenever there’s snow coming in. Nonetheless, this was showed by Friday evening, widespread snows breaking out across Charlotte, up through western North Carolina. Atlanta metro is *** mix of rain, snow, and sleet. And then you’ve got the upstate of South Carolina breaking out into widespread snow that could be heavy. Then comes the warm nose. You’ve got 1,0008 millibar low kicking in here, some warmer air in the middle parts of the atmosphere. So what that would do is transition that to ice, unfortunately, in the other State would likely get *** layer of snow, then ice on top of that going into Friday evening. This would be 11 o’clock through midnight. That would be the peak of the ice event. After midnight, this is quickly moving out, and when you wake up on Saturday morning, the precipitation is done falling, and this thing developed into *** strong sub 1000 millibar low, that means it’s throwing back *** lot of moisture for, uh, parts of Norfolk up through the new. Uh, Midwest into New England, that would be *** big system up there as well, while the rest of us are pulling out from some cold snow and ice. How much you might ask. Well, remember, there was *** pretty good shot of some snow on the, on the beginning of that. So the GFS model paints about 1 inch of snow, 0.5 inch to 1 inch in Columbia, through Augusta through Atlanta. You go north of Metro Atlanta through Greenville, Anderson, and Spartanburg, that’s 3 to 4 inches. And then you’ve got basically 4 to 6 inches up to the ID5 to I-40 corridor. And then here in this I-40 corridor northbound, that’s, you know, 8 to 12 inches of snow with these higher peaks above 4000 ft, Beach mountain, boom, getting about 1 ft, maybe 14 inches of snow in this scenario. Oh, but the, the GFS didn’t just so snow, right? Remember that? It also shows ice and unfortunately, *** lot of it. So imagine getting 2 to 4 inches of snow with about *** quarter of an inch of glaze of ice on it here along the ID5 corridor. The ID5 corridor is notorious from Charlotte to Spartanburg to Greenville to Anderson to Atlanta for being icemageddon, all right? And the reason why is the engineers built ID5 at the foot of the mountains. That’s right where the temperature wants to be *** little bit warmer than *** little bit colder because it’s lower elevation. That’s why if you Get ice, it’s almost always setting up shop right here in the ID 5 corridor. I-40 is similar that it separates lower mountains from higher mountains. They were no dummies when they built those interstates. They tried to do it at the, the easiest spot possible and did it in these areas. So, yeah, ice on this GFS America model is *** real problem. And looking at the GFS, I mean, out of 30 different runs, almost every single one of them except for 1234567. So, 23 out of 30 show uh some sort of measurable snow in the upstate. That is *** big uptick from yesterday, uh, being that we’re 5 days out. OK. So, GFS has trended up. How about the Canadian? It’s *** little bit of an outlier here on timing alone. It has this kind of missing the phase. This trough dips in, low doesn’t catch up with it, so it’s kind of lost here in the in the Gulf, but it brings in ice. Coming into Saturday night, Sunday. It’s about 24 hours delayed from its two companions, the, uh, GFS and the American, but it paints *** lot of ice and very little snow. You see, the snow’s reserved for the extreme high peaks, 4000 5000 ft up toward Beech Mountain. Boone banner out, but it does show quite *** bit of ice in these areas. Um, you know, half an inch of ice in metro Atlanta, uh, spits out quite *** bit here for the upstate as well. And then back through Tennessee, Northern Alabama, northern Mississippi, that would be *** lot of ice as well. Out of all of its runs, we have 20 different varieties or brands of the Canadian model. Uh, roughly half of them show measurable snow. So, what I’m trying to show you here is that The ensembles or the average of all the Canadians don’t necessarily agree with uh the timing one of of this uh being Saturday night, Sunday, but also they don’t agree with it being necessarily all ice. So, *** lot to watch here, including the current snowpack. We’ve got an ongoing winter storm that’s gonna coat *** lot of the Midwest through Oklahoma with ice and snow. That means, uh, as cold air moves in from Canada this week, that that travels over frozen terrain. Much like going on *** road trip, if you put ice in your cooler, it’s gonna keep those objects in the cooler, cooler longer, right? Um, If you didn’t have that ice or snow, that, that object in the cooler, whatever it might be, um, might get warmer, or will get warmer more quickly. So when we get all this snowpack, uh, the models are not assuming there’s snowpack at all right now. So I think the depth of the colder air may be something that’s *** little bit underdone on the models, and that’s something we need to look out for. So, typically speaking, Uh, this is kind of the last thing I want to show you is the nerding outside of this. Um, *** Miller *** type system would be *** blockbuster snow for Atlanta, Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Charlotte, up through Boone, Raleigh would be *** mix of rain and snow, the triad. Then you go up through the Midwest, this would be, uh, *** big time nor’easter type system, um, and that could come our way. As we move forward. What we have to watch out for is if this tries to become *** Miller bee. There are basically two distinct type of winter storms, and *** Miller bee is what, uh, you probably saw the European trying to hint at *** piece of energy comes through, dies off, shifts to the coast, and you get this little one that develops here and gets stronger as it goes north. The Canadian model also showed this. The first system rolls through, kind of gets lost and you get this little weaker system to come up. So, Miller B would be more of *** You know, 50/50 chance of snow or ice in these trouble spots of the AD 5 corridor, Miller *** would be, um, *** big time system. There’s also, uh, *** reinforcing high, locking in that cold air that would reiterate that. So folks, again, if you’re new to this channel, and you are just now tuning in and trying to figure out what it’s gonna do in your neck of the woods this week, fear no more, uh, we will keep you posted around the clock. As we move forward here, and I hope that you’ll trust me with your forecast. If you don’t already subscribe to this channel, please like this video, comment where you’re watching from, and turn on notifications because as we get closer, uh, this system is going to change. It is going to change quite *** bit, and I want you to be prepared for it. Our team at WYFF News for works diligently to make sure that you are aware of what’s coming your way. And I love this. Platform that we have online to be able to discuss this deeper. So simply put *** high impact winter storm on the way from the Midwest tonight into tomorrow, and then Thursday night, Friday, Saturday, I’m giving you kind of *** buffer there. Another system could move in and impact millions across the South with the first winter weather threat that we’ve had in 3 years, almost to the date, OK? So we’ll have to watch that very closely. January 2022 is the last time. Anybody in Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson had *** flake of snow or *** sleet pellet or *** freezing rain event. So, we are due, that is for sure, and I will keep you posted, folks. Have *** good day.

Snow, ice threat grows for possible late week winter storm

A strong winter storm system moving our way brings light ice in the mountains and waves of downpours Monday morning. Frigid air moves in behind the system tomorrow night. Meteorologist Griffin Hardy tells us what to expect as this system brings frigid air into the Upstate.Chief Meteorologist Chris Justus is also tracking the potential for a high impact winter storm possibly bringing snow and ice to the Upstate later this week.As a system moves in tonight, a Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for parts of Western North Carolina, now expanded to include a few more counties farther West (Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania & others).This system brings snow and it will change to ice in the overnight hours.Ice accumulations are expected to be around 1/10th of an inch. Patchy icy spots possible tonight in the mountains, but impacts will be minor. Drive with caution. No ice is expected for the Upstate, but it’s still going to be a messy Monday commute tomorrow with waves of downpours. Expect lows in the 30s and 40s.This system has opened the door for more to come later this week.By late Monday morning it will dry out, but the wind will start to pick up in the afternoon with gusts around 20 mph to 25 mph. Highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s.Very cold temperatures expected on Tuesday with lows in the mid 20s for the Upstate and low 20s for the mountains.Sunny and frigid for the middle part of next week, Wednesday to Thursday, with lows possibly dipping into the lower 20s-upper teens. Highs in the 40s. Still way too early to tell, but confidence is growing in a low-pressure system that could bring us wintry weather Friday afternoon through Saturday.As of Sunday, Weather Prediction Center’s outlook shows an inch or more of snow or ice at a 30 to 50 percent chance on Friday.European model shows light snow developing around Friday morning in the Upstate, North Georgia and Western North Carolina. The model paints about one inch of snow in Anderson, Abbeville and Greenwood. It paints about 1 to 2 inches of snow along the I-85 corridor and 2 to 4 inches in the northern parts of the Upstate. Hendersonville and above shows about 3 to 5 inches.In the Upstate, the average is about 1.5 inches. Chris Justus says 45 out of 50 of these runs on the EURO model shows the ground will be covered by Friday night into Saturday morning.The American model shows another low pressure system that is stronger than the European model depicts. This model shows widespread snow arriving in the afternoon hours of Friday. Unfortunately, it looks like the Upstate would get a layer of snow followed by a layer of ice.The GFS model paints about an inch to an inch and a half of snow in Columbia through Augusta. In Greenville, Anderson and Spartanburg the model shows about 3 to 4 inches. Then 4 to 6 inches around the I-85 to I-40 corridor.Ice is the biggest problem in the GFS model as it shows about a quarter inch of ice on the snow. Chris said 23 out of 30 runs on the GFS model shows some sort of measurable snow.The Canadian model seems to be the outlier here as it shows a lot more ice than snow. The Canadian model shows the system bring ice in Saturday night into Sunday morning. Roughly half on the runs on the Canadian model shows a measurable amount of snow.Monday will gradually clear any lingering activity, with the exception of possibly seeing some light snow accumulation near the TN/NC line.Sunshine and colder temperatures return Tuesday-Thursday before all eyes are on the potential for a late week system. Track rain and storms on the interactive radar here.Check the latest alerts in your area here.Watch live skycams from around the Carolinas here.Get your hour-by-hour and extended forecast here.

Chief Meteorologist Chris Justus is also tracking the potential for a high impact winter storm possibly bringing snow and ice to the Upstate later this week.

As a system moves in tonight, a Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for parts of Western North Carolina, now expanded to include a few more counties farther West (Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania & others).

This system brings snow and it will change to ice in the overnight hours.

Ice accumulations are expected to be around 1/10th of an inch. Patchy icy spots possible tonight in the mountains, but impacts will be minor. Drive with caution. No ice is expected for the Upstate, but it’s still going to be a messy Monday commute tomorrow with waves of downpours. Expect lows in the 30s and 40s.

This system has opened the door for more to come later this week.

By late Monday morning it will dry out, but the wind will start to pick up in the afternoon with gusts around 20 mph to 25 mph. Highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s.

Very cold temperatures expected on Tuesday with lows in the mid 20s for the Upstate and low 20s for the mountains.

Sunny and frigid for the middle part of next week, Wednesday to Thursday, with lows possibly dipping into the lower 20s-upper teens. Highs in the 40s.

Still way too early to tell, but confidence is growing in a low-pressure system that could bring us wintry weather Friday afternoon through Saturday.

As of Sunday, Weather Prediction Center’s outlook shows an inch or more of snow or ice at a 30 to 50 percent chance on Friday.

European model shows light snow developing around Friday morning in the Upstate, North Georgia and Western North Carolina. The model paints about one inch of snow in Anderson, Abbeville and Greenwood. It paints about 1 to 2 inches of snow along the I-85 corridor and 2 to 4 inches in the northern parts of the Upstate. Hendersonville and above shows about 3 to 5 inches.

In the Upstate, the average is about 1.5 inches. Chris Justus says 45 out of 50 of these runs on the EURO model shows the ground will be covered by Friday night into Saturday morning.

The American model shows another low pressure system that is stronger than the European model depicts. This model shows widespread snow arriving in the afternoon hours of Friday. Unfortunately, it looks like the Upstate would get a layer of snow followed by a layer of ice.

The GFS model paints about an inch to an inch and a half of snow in Columbia through Augusta. In Greenville, Anderson and Spartanburg the model shows about 3 to 4 inches. Then 4 to 6 inches around the I-85 to I-40 corridor.

Ice is the biggest problem in the GFS model as it shows about a quarter inch of ice on the snow. Chris said 23 out of 30 runs on the GFS model shows some sort of measurable snow.

The Canadian model seems to be the outlier here as it shows a lot more ice than snow. The Canadian model shows the system bring ice in Saturday night into Sunday morning. Roughly half on the runs on the Canadian model shows a measurable amount of snow.

Monday will gradually clear any lingering activity, with the exception of possibly seeing some light snow accumulation near the TN/NC line.

Sunshine and colder temperatures return Tuesday-Thursday before all eyes are on the potential for a late week system.