Blog: Wintry Assault Continues: Harsh Cold, Snow

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GOOD MORNING..

We told you in our Winter Forecast that December would be MUCH different than December 2015 and that is certainly panning out. Winter is going to continue to pummel us for a few more days until the pattern relaxes early next week.

WIND CHILLS

Very cold air has already settled into the region this morning, with temperatures particularly frigid to our west.Click to EnlargeTemperatures will only make it into the lower 20s today with wind chills in the lower teens much of the time. But the REAL arctic air is on the way tonight through Friday. By tomorrow morning the wind will be howling and air temperatures will be in the single digits in most spots. Wind chills? Yuck.Click to EnlargeThis is the kind of cold in which we (for reasons beyond understanding) have to remind people to bring their pets in. You'd think it is common sense, but......Count on plenty of school adjustments Thursday morning. We don't make that call and I am often surprised at what school districts decide to do but this seems like a no brainer.The unusual December cold is thans to a pattern that has allowed a lobe of the (cue ominous music) POLAR VORTEX to come much farther south than it's usual home (the, well, polar regions).Click to EnlargeWind chills Friday morning will not be as harsh, generally 2 to 7 below...probably still enough to cause delays. Air temperatures? 0 to 4 above.

LAKE-EFFECT SNOW

With all this arctic air going over the Great Lakes, you know there will be a healthy amount of lake-effect snow. It will get going tonight and continue into early tomorrow night.Click to EnlargeOf course the highest amounts will be in the primary snow belt but several inches is likely in parts of Trumbull and Mercer counties.Click to Enlarge

"GENERAL SNOW FRIDAY NIGHT"

A strong warm front will approach Friday night and we expect snow to break out before midnight. At first, this will be "high ratio" snow, perhaps a 20:1 liquid to snow ratio (instead of typical 12:1 or 10:1). This will translate into the snow accumulating quickly during the first several hours of snowfall. It will get "wetter" by early Saturday morning.Click to EnlargeClick to EnlargeWhen true arctic air is dislodged it is usually a bumpy ride and there may be a period of freezing rain/mixed precipitation around daybreak Saturday.Thankfully a transition to "plain" rain will occur as temperatures warm into the 40s.Click to Enlarge

How much snow? I think this will easily be enough to shovel and plow. 1inchodds 3inchoddsThinking 3-5" is fairly likely.

We'll have ONE MORE arctic blast behind this system for Sunday night/Monday before a milder pattern takes hold. That milder pattern is likely  to last through Christmas and even into the New Year.