Tracking Snow with BIG Weather Changes Ahead

It happens with the flip of a switch every year in the Mid-South. It's not uncommon to go from very warm and stormy to blustery and cold (snowy) all in a matter of a week. That time has arrived for the Local 6 area this week and the big change will happen late Monday Night and Tuesday.

Warm and windy conditions ahead of a BIG cold front will lead to showers and storms tonight and early Tuesday. While wintery precipitation is not widely expected the stark change will come in temperatures behind the front. This shift in weather dynamics will not be short term. The overall weather pattern will favor a trough (dip) in the jetstream to allow cold, Canadian air to spill southward for several days and favor a few small chances for snow in the next seven days. (Snow lovers clap here!)

As we switch to this northwest flow regime, the cold air in place and energy swinging down through gives us our first chance at flurries and light snow Thursday night. A slightly bigger piece of energy swings through Friday night and Saturday morning. This will likely be our first chance of lightly accumulating snow especially over Southern Illinois, the Pennyrile of Western Kentucky and the Lakes area. You can see the projected snow areas below. We are still 5 days out from the forecast so this is likely going to change a bit over the next couple of days and it's why I don't put specific snow totals attached to it. Those will be added Wednesday. It is good practice to only show forecast snow totals for specific cities at 48-60 hours out. You'll see that here all season long and it cuts down on error and confusion.

GFS model output for Saturday morning. Click to enlarge.

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