Icy Weather Conditions Thursday Night into Friday Morning

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Today's forecast:
Jackson, MS-------High 31 Low 29

Starkville, MS-----High 34 Low 29

Meridian, MS------High 36 Low 31

Vicksburg, MS-----High 31 Low 27

Greenwood, MS----High 34 Low 27

Tupelo, MS--------High 38 Low 29

Hattiesburg, MS---High 34 Low 34

Pascagoula, MS----High 38 Low 36




~Jackson, MS

Currently~as of 6:10a.m.
Oh what a winter it has certainly been for the 2010-2011 year! We are having very cold temperatures here in south and it seems like we are always having a chance for snow. Elsewhere, historic blizzards in many parts of the states right now. It's even been called "The Great Groundhog Blizzard" by some meteorologists and it has produced historic amounts of heavy snow, freezing rain, and dangerously cold and windy conditions. Dr. Jeff Masters, blogger for the wunderground.com, states that over half an inch of ice has caused power outages in Indianapolis and even more in such states like New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Blizzard conditions across Chicago is still continuing with up to two inches of snow falling per hour along with high and strong winds. Chicago's O'Hare Airport has already received over 19.6" of snow and with more to come could possibly become Chicago's worst snowstorm in history. Many people from the Southern Plain have suffered lots of power outages and the strong effects of this winter storm. Visit http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1740 for more information and pictures.

In other news, Australia was hit with a Category 4 Cyclone this morning. Yasi, the Cyclone name, had winds of up to 155mph when it hit falling 5mph short of being a Category 5. However, Yasi is currently one of Australia's top ten strongest storms to hit since 1970.

Luckily, here we are not experiencing anything near a blizzard or cyclone for that matter. Nonetheless, we are still having cold temperatures here in the south and these cold temperatures will lead to rough and icy conditions later today.

What's Happening Atmospherically
Right now, we are under alot of high clouds and moisture as we have a closed low pressure system that is bringing some precipitation to southern portion of MS. A very complex forecast today as the precipitation will lead to more of a wintry mix. In the Jackson and surrounding area, we will mostly just see dense and heavy cloud coverage between this morning and early afternoon. As a surface low pressure system emerges from the south, it will push precipitation further north and we will start to have some type of moisture by mid to late afternoon hours or close to around dinner time. Also, we have a trough to our west that contains a shallow pocket of cold air. The combination of moisture and this cold air will give us our ice event. Very briefly we will start with rain but most of the period will mostly be made up of freezing rain. Temperatures will hover around the freezing mark thus allowing for freezing precips. Some areas will see some small flurries out of this but mostly this will be an ice event as the upper atmosphere will be limited and dry to produce any amount of significant snow.

Due to this event, the NWS(National Weather Service) has issued warnings both a Winter Storm and a Hard Freeze. The Winter Storm Warning is in effect from noon today to 9am Friday morning. A Winter Storm Warning is usually issued because of significant sleet and ice that will impact the area making travel dangerous. A Hard Freeze Warning is in effect until noon today. Basically signifying temperatures being below freezing for extended periods.

In the Jackson area, about an half an inch of ice and sleet are expecting to accumulate throughout the period of Thursday evening into Friday morning. This will certainly make traveling very dangerous, so please be careful traveling home from work tonight and especially Friday morning. Friday morning will be especially dangerous because of the accumulations of ice. The best thing to do is probably to head out early for your morning commute to work or school just so you don't have to speed or be in any type of rush. These type of road conditions are not the type of conditions that you won't to be speeding through. Remember, bridges will have the greatest impact so be careful driving over them. Water pipes and any type of vegetation needs to definitely be covered and put inside. Be sure to stay updated with your local weather stations as well as some jobs and schools could be closed for tomorrow.
As temperatures warm up Friday morning, the wintry mix will mostly turn to rain. I don't mean to harp on these conditions, but traveling carefully tomorrow will be necessary with the combination of ice and rain all together. Rain should persist throughout the majority of the day. It should start to slack by the evening hours and will be entirely gone Saturday morning as high pressure sets back in.

Today
Rain should begin to push into the Jackson area by mid to late afternoon hour and we will start off with freezing rain. This should last throughout Thursday night and into Friday. A mostly cloudy day with highs in the lower 30s. Winds from the northwest between 5-10 mph will make the air around us feel more like in the 20s(wind chill).

Tonight
Another cold night with freezing rain for the majority of it. An accumulation of about an 1/2 inch of ice is forecasted. Freezing rain and sleet should continue throughout the night and end Friday morning. Lows in the upper 20s to lower 30s.

Friday's outlook
Wintry mix will be done by the time you head to work, but rain will still be in the forecast. Again, travel cautiously as lingering showers will progress throughout the day. Highs only in the upper 30s.

Long-term
After Saturday, we will get some time to recover from all the rain and wintry mix as the weekend looks to be rain-free. On Sunday, we actually could be back around our normal in the 50s. Next week, more arctic air will pour in. Monday night will be very cold. We could see temperatures in the teens! Also, next Wednesday looks pretty interesting considering we may have a good chance of snow here.

I'll continue to monitor that system, so be sure to stay tuned to my weather blog. What a winter! Stay warm, be safe, and God bless!