Another Winter Storm?

If you're thinking to yourself that it is impossible to see snow twice in one year in MS- let alone within two weeks- think again! Yes, extreme northern parts of the state do have a chance tomorrow night of seeing snowfall. Accordingly, the NWS office in Memphis, TN has issued a WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY which will go into effect at 12pm Thursday and last until 9pm Thursday evening. 7 MS counties are included in this advisory: Tunica, DeSoto, Tippah, Benton, Marshall, Alcorn, and Tate. I'm expecting, at best, 3" of snow in the heaviest of bands.  Here's a better look:

If you like snow, for us here in Starkville, I hate to break it to you- but it just doesn't look like we are going to see anything measurable out of this system. I think the best chance of seeing measurable snow in MS is going to be along and north of HWY 6- this would include the cities of Clarksdale, Oxford, Batesville, Water Valley, New Albany, and Tupelo. But even so, these areas will likely not see anything above a couple of inches of snow.

Here's why I think Starkville is going to miss out:

This is an image from the NAM forecast model showing PREDICTED precipitation late Thursday night into the early parts of Friday. The important thing is what we meteorologists refer to as the "540 line." This is sort of a rule-of-thumb "rain/snow" line- with rain usually occurring to the south and snow to the north- with the area right along the line running the possibility of seeing either rain or snow, or both, or freezing rain/sleet. So as you can see in the image above, the 540 line runs almost parallel to MS HWY 6. Again, this is a forecast model and it is a prediction- things can change as we get data from the latest models.

**I will post frequent updates about this possible winter weather on my twitter page! Follow me @JakeReeed2

Below, are two images also from the NAM and this shows forecasted precipitation type- just who will see rain and who will see snow? This image is forecasting for 6PM Thursday. The top image with the green is showing where RAIN is likely to be occurring at 6PM Thursday. You can see that most of MS, minus the EXTREME NORTHERN counties should see MAINLY RAIN- however, I can't rule out a flurry or two or even possibly a light dusting in some areas- this would be along and north of MS HWY 82.

The image BELOW is showing where the NAM thinks snow will be occurring at 6PM Thursday.

 I can say with confidence that this will not be as big of a winter storm as what we saw early last week. However it is worth mentioning because snowfall is fairly uncommon in the deep south. Again, this event is forecast to take place THURSDAY EVENING and into the early hours on Friday.

Once this system moves out, we will be left with some pretty cold air for Friday-Sunday. Luckily, the sun will finally come back out for Friday and the weekend! Highs will stay in the mid to low 40s and lows falling into the mid to low 20s. Our next chance of RAIN will not occur until early next week.

Stay tuned to my twitter page @JakeReed2 for more frequent updates on the possible snow!

Hope you guys have a great one!