Mostly cloudy today with winter weather on the way tonight
What We’re Tracking:
- Temperatures moderate through today
- Colder and snowy for New Year’s Day
- Warming up again next week
Mostly cloudy skies are generally expected today as we prepare for our first system of the winter to move through. Highs will reach the lower to middle 50s this afternoon with winds picking up tonight. The majority of the evening will remain dry so New Years Eve plans wont be impacted too much. With that being said, the cold front will be moving through just after dinner time so plan on rapidly dropping temperatures through midnight.
Freezing rain/drizzle will also likely become a concern after midnight so watch the roads carefully for slippery conditions as you head home from festivities.
The incoming storm system appears to be timing out for very late New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day. That system could produce areas of wintry mix or snow. As of now, we look to stay dry through midnight which is, again, good news for those with plans. Just after midnight, that’s when things will start to get messy. Expect snow off and on through a majority of the daytime Saturday.
Snow amounts will likely range from 4-8″ or more over the northern counties to 1-3″ of a mixture of snow and sleet over the southern half of the viewing area. The best chance for freezing rain will be a bit farther south, so we should avoid an ice storm in our viewing area, however, still expect areas of snow and blowing snow for New Year’s Day.
Once the snow moves out, temperatures will be our next concern going forward. Saturday afternoon, thanks to the falling snow along with accumulation on the ground, we may struggle to even get out of the 10s for afternoon highs. Following that will be below zero temperatures for early Sunday morning. Winds may be fairly breezy as well causing it to feel like -10° to -20° if not colder in spots.
Early next week we start to warm things back up to above freezing during the afternoon with highs in the 40s again although we hold on to the cold nights. Dry conditions are also looking likely through the first full week of 2022.
KSNT Storm Track Meteorologist Ryan Matoush