NOTHIN' LIKE APRIL SNOWFLAKES, EH?

From the vault: Bull Elk bugling, Cataloochee Valley Herd
(click to enlarge)

It's a minor thing, this cold shot incoming that will drop our temps from a high near 80 today to a low near 30 Thursday morning.  But before the cold arrives, we have pretty gusty winds coming in today and tonight, along with rain and possibly some good rumbles of thunder.  Cooler air invades for Wednesday, but more showers will be possible.  

It's the overnight hours into Thursday morning that the cold air aloft can keep snow mixing in with the (limited) rain to the surface, and maybe a temporary accumulation before melting.  Roads should be fine given the warmth of the ground and the not-so-low temps...and in case your jaw is open, we have seen snow here in May.  This is just one of those. "Aw, I was enjoying the great spring weather...". 

Good news is that the temps start to rebound after a chilly Thursday and Friday, with Sunday being the pick weekend day with sunny highs back into the mid and upper 60s.

Bob

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 3PM TODAY

Icing on Edison light @1230pm today

Been sitting at 30/31 degrees for several hours here at the end of Staymon, and vegetation has a nice coating of ice, especially any evergreens, which are drooping down into the roads.  The National Weather Service posted our area in the advisory which you can read about HERE.  Icing is most evident above the double hairpin curves, elevation-wise. We need a lot of things, but a third consecutive day of power outages isn't one of them.

Hopefully, the temp will creep upward this afternoon and avert any problems.  The roads are fine, just be careful on your decks and stairs.

Bob

WIND ADVISORY AND STUFF

Repost of Ring-neck drake at Lake Junaluska years ago,  Click to enlarge.

Such a scientific word, "stuff", eh?  We all enjoyed a 4-hour power outage last night, and with more strong wind slated for this afternoon through tomorrow mid-day, it could happen again.  This area has a lot of dead/dying/weakened ash and locust trees that more easily come down in strong winds.  A Wind Advisory is in place for ACA from 1pm today for a 24-hour period.  Click HERE for details.

As our precipitation ends tonight, temps will plummet well down into the 20s, but at least the cold temps soon mitigate after one day.

In retrospect, thank goodness our surface temps stayed above 32 degrees with all the snow that was falling last Saturday.  I was fine with that!

Ah, and Leap Year is here as tomorrow is Feb. 29.  If you are wondering when leap years occur, divide any year by four.  If it divides cleanly, then it's a Leap Year.  The history of a Leap Year goes FAR back in time, in case you were wondering.  Click HERE for a good article on it from TIME.

Daylight Saving is just around the corner, but not this weekend.  It will be the following weekend, March 10.

That's all the news from Lake Wobegon, saddle pals.

Bob

HERE WE GO AGAIN....

 

Dawn 2/18/2024 from the end of Staymon Rd.

A quick-hitting band of snow showers will cross our area later this afternoon and evening.  Strong winds will once again accompany this clipper, but those winds will also limit accumulations.

Speaking of accumulations, this is yet another piddly amount that may not accumulate in the valleys or lower ACA (outside of a dusting).  The higher portions of Apple Creek could get 0.25"-0.75" on the ground if a couple of the models verify.

The wind and temperatures could limit accumulations.  I woke up to 36 degrees on Staymon, so the roads should not become an issue unless there is a temporary coating from a heavy burst. Temps will fall later this afternoon en route to a cold start for Sunday.

The good news is that we'll have unusually mild weather next week, with the possibility of strong thunderstorms nearby Wednesday.  The polar jet stream is finally starting to wobble our way after exiting northern Europe, so we'll have to see if it pays us a visit sometime in March.

(raising a glass of wine...)  Salut!

Bob

LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS BY MORNING

 "Light" is the operative word.  A quick hitting shot of cold air will be in place Saturday before starting to rebound some Sunday.  There is very little moisture with tonight's cold front, but the cold air will most likely squeeze out some wintry mix precipitation through Saturday morning.  I don't foresee any road issues given our temperate days of late.  Any accumulations would be insignificant.

Winter is far from over, and we all cringe over a potential late freeze to plants and crops. But after getting last month's Duke Energy bill, I'll take all the milder weather I can get.  Just not tomorrow....

Bob

LIGHT NW FLOW TONIGHT

There really are no big changes to what I wrote early this morning.  Technically, there is in place a HWO (Hazardous Weather Outlook), but no winter advisories or warnings like last time (which didn 't matter to a hill of beans). It calls for 1-2" above 3500' (upper ACA), one of those things that makes one yawn over the sameness of so many little events this season.

Ah, but we know what a little snow on the roads can do to safety.  The ground is warm from today, so I'm not anticipating serious road issues for ACA.  Lows only around 28-31, with highs trying to reach 38-42, so any accumulations would be melting as sun returns.  And from there we only warm up this week, so this is really a baby event...though I'll reserve judgment until I'm sure we don't get a surprise 2"+.  

If needed, I'll update early early Wednesday morning.  Like 4am if not earlier.

Bob

LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS OVERNIGHT?

 Another winter nuisance event will pass through overnight into early Wednesday morning.  As I type at 415am, there is no Advisory or even a Hazardous Weather Outlook put out for ACA, but it's a little NW flow event that could lay down an inch or two in upper ACA.

For now, just a heads up.  I'll clarify and adjust later this afternoon.

Bob