December 12, 2020 archive

Type: Impactful wintry weather

What: Accumulating snow

When: Tuesday night & Wednesday

Temperatures: Lower 30s

Wind: NE 10-20 MPH early in the event, shifting to the NW and decreasing to 5-10 MPH Wednesday

Blowing/ Drifting: Minimal

Pavement Impacts: Salting and plowing required

Summary: An area of low pressure will move across northern Texas (Monday night and Tuesday morning) northeast into the lower Ohio Valley (Wednesday morning). In response to this feature, a secondary surface low will form in the northern Gulf of Mexico Tuesday night and it’s this surface low that will eventually “steal the show” moving northeast and being located off the Carolina coast Wednesday before eventually blowing up into a good ole fashioned nor’easter Wednesday night and Thursday. Before this energy transfer takes place, we should see a stripe of accumulating snow extend northeast into the Ohio Valley Tuesday night and Wednesday. From this distance, it appears as if central IN is in store for the 1st widespread snow event of the season, but the devil’s still in the details. We’ll have to monitor the energy transfer closely. Additionally, it’ll be important to keep eyes on the developing Gulf low. Should this system generate convection in more rapid fashion than currently thought, it would steal some of the moisture from the initial low into the OHV. As it is, the early thinking here is that this is a 1″ to 3″ type event for our immediate region. Should the Gulf low organize a little slower, the possibility is there for heavier totals. Widespread snow should diminish and come to an end late Wednesday morning (west) and by afternoon (east). Thursday and Friday look dry and cold.

Confidence: Medium

Next Update: This afternoon (video package)