Category: Arctic Cold

Merry Christmas To All: Another Accumulating Snow Event On Deck Followed By A Significant Warm-Up As We Close Out The Year…

Updated 12.25.22 @ 8:11a

From our family to yours, here’s wishing you a blessed and very merry Christmas!

Our Christmas morning is getting off to another frigid start, with all of the immediate region featuring temperatures just above the 0° mark (wind chill values remain well below zero).

7:45a temperatures Christmas Day
8a wind chill values Christmas Day

All but far northeastern IN is at least seeing sunshine this morning. We can thank that lake influence for keeping our northeastern neighbors overcast this morning.

53% of the country is enjoying a White Christmas. That’s the most since back in ’09 when 63% of the country was snow covered on Christmas Day.

Speaking of snow, our next snow maker will arrive overnight and remain with us through our Monday. In general, we anticipate 1″ to 2″ of snow with this system with a couple of 3″ reports. While certainly not a heavy snow event, expect slick travel Monday thanks to the recent frigid stretch of temperatures. Most persistent snow will likely fall from late morning into the early afternoon across central Indiana.

A couple of days of uneventful weather will follow our snow maker. Sunshine will return Tuesday. While still cold, temperatures will moderate close to the freezing mark for daytime highs.

Our airflow will then back around to the southwest Wednesday and this will be the beginning of a significant period of moderation. “Zoom, zoom, up and away” is how we’ll label the temperature regime heading into next weekend, including New Year’s Eve with highs into the lower 60s for many. Talk about another infamous “snap back” warm-up following an arctic intrusion. (Don’t worry winter weather fans, we’re already eyeing the return of our next cold, snow pattern by mid-January).

The trade off to the warmer weather? An extended period of gloom. Clouds will increase Wednesday and eventually give way to drizzle that will turn into periods of rain Thursday through next weekend. The heaviest rain will likely fall New Year’s Eve as an area of low pressure lifts north into the western Great Lakes.

Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/merry-christmas-to-all-another-accumulating-snow-event-on-deck-followed-by-a-significant-warm-up-as-we-close-out-the-year/

VIDEO: Another Snow Maker On Deck; Warmer, Wetter Pattern Evolves Next Week…

Updated 12.24.22 @ 8:40a

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VIDEO: Long Range Update And Short-Term Look At Our Next Snow Maker…

Updated 12.23.22 @ 7:58a

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VIDEO: Blizzard Conditions Into Friday; Another Snow Maker Arrives Just After Christmas…

Updated 12.22.22 @ 5:54p

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Client Brief: Use This Morning To Finalize Prep For Blizzard Conditions And Dangerous Cold Tonight – Christmas Eve…

Updated 12.22.22 @ 7:40a

Type: Severe Winter Weather

What: Heavy snow, blizzard conditions, dangerously cold temperatures

When: Late this afternoon through Christmas Eve

Temperatures: Falling from the upper 30s (Thursday afternoon) to 0° to 10° below zero (Friday morning).

Wind: NW 15-25 MPH, shifting to the WSW and increasing to 25-40 MPH with gusts to 50 MPH

Blowing/ Drifting: Severe

Pavement Impacts: Plowing and salting will be required throughout the region.

Summary: Light rain is overspreading central Indiana this morning as moisture is slowly pulled northward ahead of the approaching arctic cold front. That arctic front is still expected to plow across the state this afternoon (just after lunchtime across western IN, between 3p and 4p for Indianapolis, and by 7p – 8p for our far eastern IN neighbors). Once the front hits, you’ll notice a dramatic wind shift to the northwest and increase to 20-30 MPH with higher gusts, along with a temperature plummet. We’ll likely see temperatures fall more than 20° in less than 90 minutes once the arctic front passes.

As all of this is taking shape, a wave of low pressure will move from southwest IN late afternoon into eastern MI by Friday morning. Long time Hoosiers know that’s a classic track to deposit a nice snowstorm around these parts. Rain will change to snow in the city around, or just after, 4p and we’ll notice the swath of snow growing in overall coverage and intensity as the low pressure system deepens. Periods of heavy snow can be expected at times tonight.

Meanwhile, winds will continue to increase to 25-35 MPH sustained with gusts to 50 MPH tonight, continuing through the day Friday and into the first portion of Christmas Eve morning. These persistent strong winds won’t only potentially lead to power outages, but continuous blowing and drifting issues through the aforementioned period. Blizzard and whiteout conditions will continue at times. Snow removal efforts will likely have to continue into Christmas Eve to account for the severe blowing and drifting on area roadways, especially north-south roadways. While the heavy snow will come to an end early Friday morning, light snow and blowing snow will persist through the day Friday and into early Christmas Eve morning.

Finally, the dangerous cold is going to be a big problem with this multi-faceted winter storm. After we fall to below zero Friday morning, highs on Friday likely won’t make it back much above 0°. Add in the wind and wind chill values of more than 30° below zero can be expected.

Confidence: High

Next Update: This evening (video discussion)


Permanent link to this article: https://indywx.com/client-brief-use-this-morning-to-finalize-prep-for-blizzard-conditions-and-dangerous-cold-tonight-christmas-eve/