Arctic Blast in Mississippi!

Wow! What a bone-chilling cold day we've had so far across N Mississippi. In fact, many areas north of HWY 82 still have snow on the ground- several inches in some spots! This is what we meteorologists refer to as a 'snow pack' and it has played a huge role in today's weather.

This is a satellite image and no, those aren't clouds. That's the snow that's still on the ground! Snow has a very high reflectivity because of that, it reflects back to the satellite and shows up.

     Here's what's going on: Since the winter storm has pushed off the east coast, MS is now being controlled by a very large and strong Arctic High Pressure. The 1043mb surface High Pressure is situated over the Red River between Texas and Oklahoma. This is causing N-NW winds across MS. Under normal circumstances, we might say "colder air is being filtered in" but in today's case, those winds are traveling across a snow pack. What this means, is that the air that is being funneled in from Canada is just as cold there as it is when it reaches the Magnolia State! 

While temperatures are currently in the mid to upper 20s, the wind chill factor remains in the teens. We also have single digit dew points and that is really causing the extra 'bite' in the cold air, so please be cautious if you're going to be outdoors today as this is dangerously cold air and is something you want to take seriously! Just a few numbers here: Todd Yakoubian, a meteorologist with KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas, reported a wind chill in that area of -11 F degrees this morning!

We still have a couple of warnings that are in effect due to the brutally cold temperatures. The NWS in Jackson, MS keeps a Hard Freeze Warning in effect for the entire HWY 82 corridor from the MS-AL state line in Lowdnes and Noxubee Counties westward along HWY 82 until the MS River and this continues until tomorrow at 10AM- here's a glimpse of that (courtesy the NWS): 

The cold air will remain locked in our area at least for the next day or two, but then by late in the weekend, that High Pressure System will progress eastward and we will see a return flow- this means southerly winds and more moisture. It will also allow temps to moderate quite a bit- to near 60 by Martin Luther King Jr. day, and we also then introduce a chance for showers- more on that to come!

Hope you guys have a fantastic Wednesday and thanks for reading!

Jake R