ROANOKE, Va. – It’s hard to fathom that snow will stick after such unseasonable warmth, but this storm system is making that happen in parts of Tennessee and Alabama. Huntsville was 79° Saturday, just like Danville, and they’ve seen snow stick since Sunday night.
Here is a look at the snow here at NWS Huntsville. #HUNwx pic.twitter.com/HlYXkaVlHb
— NWS Huntsville (@NWSHuntsville) January 3, 2022
Recommended Videos
As cold air advances east and our storm system drags that cold air down to the surface, we’ll see snow become the dominant precipitation type throughout the morning Monday.
It comes to an end in the mountains between 8 and 10 a.m. In the Roanoke Valley and surrounding areas, it comes to an end between 10 a.m. and Noon. Southside is last to get rid of it between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
As far as accumulations are concerned, we are forecasting at least 4″ of snow in the New River Valley. This is where snow will start first, and it will fall heavily at times.
Farther east, snow totals decrease a bit. This is to take into account melting at first when the snow hits our warm and wet ground. As noted above, however, exceptionally heavy snow will overcome that warm ground like it has in Tennessee and Alabama (hence our ranges).
With temperatures in the 30s, we know that this snow will have more water content (more weight) to it. That’s good if you want to make snowballs. That’s bad if you need to remove it, and it will also weigh down on limbs and power lines.
Outages will be possible Monday. The wind may not help matters either, as gusts peak between 25 and 35 mph across much of the area.
That will place wind chills in the 20s for much of the afternoon Monday, despite increasing sunshine.
With a clear sky and calm wind at night, any snowpack will reflect a lot of “heat” back up into space. This will send our temperatures down into the teens by Tuesday morning.
Any slushy spots on bridges, overpasses or side roads may become icy by Tuesday morning (even though we’ll have ample time to dry out Monday).
The weather stays uneventful and cold through Wednesday. By Thursday, we’ll track another storm system that gives us the chance for afternoon rain and some leftover snow (not as much expected) at night.
This is followed by a rush of Arctic air that puts highs in the 20s and 30s Friday afternoon and lows in the teens Saturday morning.
For updates on the forecast and alerts, be sure to download our app. You can send us your pictures and video on Pin It.