01.01.21 Weather Bulletin: Prospects Of Accumulating Snow Increasing Tomorrow Night…

Freezing Rain Changes To Rain; Accumulating Snow Tomorrow Night? Low pressure will track into the eastern Great Lakes tonight. Temperatures will slowly rise through the day, allowing freezing rain to transition to rain. Slick roads this morning will slowly improve through the afternoon.

Attention will then shift to a trailing piece of upper level energy Saturday night and Sunday morning. While thermal profiles are marginal at best, the track and strength of the upper level energy will lead to the potential of accumulating wet snow Saturday night and Sunday morning. These are the kind of systems that can manufacture their own cold and result in “surprise” snow events for some. As things stand now, we expect a band of accumulating snow to develop across central Indiana into western Ohio tomorrow night and Sunday morning. We’ll keep a close eye on data the rest of the day and update later this evening.

Weak high pressure will nose into the region as we kick off the new work week, allowing sunshine to return.

Client Brief: Freezing Rain Arrives Pre-Dawn Friday…

Type: Impactful wintry weather

What: Freezing rain/ icy glaze

When: 2a – 1p Friday

Temperatures: 25° to 30° (location dependent, please see below)

Wind: East 5-15 MPH

Blowing/ Drifting: Non-existent

Pavement Impacts: Salting will be required

Summary: After a dry New Year’s Eve, moisture will advance north as a surface low tracks from the northwestern Gulf Coast into the Ohio Valley. As the precipitation arrives (around or just after midnight for far southwestern IN before spreading north, reaching Indianapolis by 4a, and north-central Indiana by 6a), it’ll encounter a shallow layer of cold air entrenched at the surface. Several hours of freezing rain can be expected north of a line from Terre Haute, Bloomington, and Cincinnati Friday morning where temperatures will remain below freezing the longest. South of that line, only a brief period of icing is expected before a transition to a cold rain. Further north, especially along and north of the I-70 corridor, temperatures will fall into the middle to upper 20s tonight and slowly rise into the lower 30s by late morning. All of the state will “warm” above freezing by Friday afternoon with any lingering moisture falling as a plain ole rain. Beforehand, an icy glaze is expected to develop predawn Friday and travel will be difficult in places- especially from central IN and points north. If at all possible, we recommend delaying travel until afternoon as conditions should slowly begin to improve by that point.

Confidence: High

Next Update: This afternoon

12.30.20 Weather Bulletin: Timing Out Period Of Wet Snow By Evening; Icy Glaze To Open New Year’s Day…

Rain Ends As Wet Snow This Evening…A cold rain will continue to overspread central Indiana this morning. A cold front will slip south across the state through the afternoon and temperatures will fall into the 30s prior to sunset across most of the region. One final wave of moisture will push northeast across the area as temperatures fall into the low and mid 30s leading to a brief period of wet snow between 6p and 10p (northeast to southwest). We’re likely only looking at a window of 1-2 hours of snow at any one location, but it could fall moderate to heavy during that brief window and accumulate between a dusting and 1.5″. We’ll keep an eye on model trends through the day.

New Year’s Eve will feature dry, but gloomy and cold conditions. Look for overcast skies and highs struggling to make it to freezing.

Our second area of low pressure will lift north from the northwestern Gulf Coast into the Midwest Friday and Saturday. This will help widespread precipitation overspread the Hoosier state New Year’s Day (before sunrise for most). With cold air locked in at the surface, precipitation at the onset, continuing for a few hours north of a line from Terre Haute, Bloomington, and Cincinnati, will fall as freezing rain. If traveling early, we’d recommend caution as a light icy glaze (less than .10″ for most) is a good bet. Eventually warmer air will win out, switching things to a “plain ole rain” late morning into the afternoon.

Lingering showers will end Saturday as a trailing piece of upper level energy moves east across the Ohio Valley. Dry skies will return as we open up the new work week.