Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Accumulating Snowfall Possible for a Second Weekend in a Row

Typically after a decent snow temperatures will cool off rather quickly.  We didn't quite get that following last Sunday's snowfall because south winds held temperatures fairly constant (but gave us a lot of fog).  The cold finally arrives this week with the possibility of accumulating snowfall this weekend.

Low pressure will develop east of the Rockies and move through the central Plains Friday into Saturday morning.  As it looks right now, Tuesday evening, light snow will develop Saturday afternoon and continue into the overnight as low pressure spins up closer to Iowa and Illinois.  Temperatures will remain below freezing, at the surface and above, so there shouldn't be an issue with precipitation type Saturday night.  However, there are some differences between long range forecast models on just how much warm air gets wrapped in ahead of the low Sunday.  The GFS forecast model suggests the warm air doesn't quite make it this far north, keeping the precipitation all snow Sunday.  The European forecast model suggests warm air getting pulled close to Northern Illinois increasing a chance for a transition over to a wintry mix, especially south of I-88.  However, the recent run of the European model Tuesday does not pull the warm air as far north as it previously had.  The bulk of precipitation will occur late Saturday afternoon/evening into Sunday morning.  So if you're a fan of snow this forecast may be just for you.  Either way, it looks like winter is here and here to stay.

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