ROANOKE, Va. – There has been plenty of moisture to work with recently, but the cold air has been lacking to create any widespread snow.
Now, as we look ahead to next week, there will be plenty of cold air.
Just check out the forecast for Saturday’s AFC Wild Card game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs! The forecast temperature is two degrees below zero at kickoff, and that doesn’t factor in the wind!
A piece of the polar vortex has broken off, which is what typically sends shivers down our spines in the U.S.
We made a video to briefly explain what that means.
Now once a sliver of that cold air arrives, will the moisture sync up with it to bust our snow drought?
If an area of low pressure can develop, we will see a little snow early next week.
The most recent batch of forecast data shows a piece of energy gliding across the southern U.S., giving us at least the chance for some snow Monday night and Tuesday.
This would have to a) slow down dramatically and b) dig deeper to grab more moisture for it to be “the big one.”
When you blend forecast data into what’s called an ‘ensemble,’ you can give a probability-based forecast on how much snow is possible.
With that said, an inch of snow is possible in areas along and west of the Parkway late Monday and Tuesday. When you start trying to tack on more snow, the probabilities go down.
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One thing is certain. It is going to get very cold at times next week. Wednesday morning has the potential to be the coldest we’ve seen since Christmas 2022.
Granted, some of us were below zero then, but most of us will fall into the single digits and teens this time around.
There will be some wind, meaning that the wind chill could drop below zero degrees in the mountains on Wednesday morning.
That could once again be the case later in the week.