FROM SLUSH TO MORE SNOW

Looking north from Staymon Road this morning 
(click to enlarge)

(This post has been update with the Warning information recently posted as a Watch)

The initial snowfall burst yesterday afternoon was right pretty.  Overnight, as the main moisture field moved in, I got about 2.5" of snow before a heavy sleet and rain band knocked it down to 1-1.5" of pure slush.  Nothing is frozen hard and hopefully we'll melt most of what we have on the roads.

(Click HERE for a list of snow reports, Round #1)

ACA is now under a Winter Storm Warning for elevations above 3500' (the blue roof house).  The lower part of ACA is technically under a Winter Weather Advisory for lesser amounts. This next round will cause us headaches, so prepare today:

Timing:  The Warning now runs from 12am Monday through 1pm Tuesday (starting an hour earlier). This is a long-running event compared to our last little shot.

Temps: This graphic is a very close approximation to what we should experience.  When you have snowpack, temps run colder...when I see a high of 32, I know it will be in the mid 20s at my house:

(click to enlarge)

Amounts: The Warning write-up will have you think this might be our Snowmageddon this winter....but not so fast. The heaviest amounts will be the TN/NC border areas, where 6-12" is likely. At the moment, I don't see but 1-2" for lower ACA and 3-4" for upper ACA. The only way we'd get higher snow totals is if the NW flow sets up coming directly down the I-40 corridor from TN. Not ruling that out...those high totals are almost too close for comfort to ACA.

Gusty winds will be a part of this as well, adding to the wind chill and also tamping down snow totals some. Especially with these incoming cold temps, it's always wise to prepare for a power outage.

Keep in mind nothing will be done to our ACA roads until the snow showers are finished, which at the earliest will be Tuesday afternoon.  As I said earlier, plan ahead today while you can.  Travel on our mountain is expected to be dangerous for a while...and hopefully we won't have any refreeze before the snows arrive. 

Please remember that if you relocate a car ahead of time, make sure that you are as far from any travel lanes as possible.  If you choose an area that's below a steep road section, you may have sliding vehicles coming at you (like the bottom of Staymon).

I'm here for this event, so I'll update as I get pertinent information.  If you have any road reports, etc., feel free to add them in the comments section below.

Bob