Wintry mix, snow possible this weekend
A low pressure system is starting to take shape over the southwest United States, and is expected to begin impacting Mid-Missouri’s weather on early Saturday.
Typically, low pressure systems that develop over the southern states and track our way carry a little more moisture and warmer temperatures since they’re generated over a warmer climate. This is what we’re seeing with this storm so far.
The track of this storm will determine who gets the bulk of precipitation, but most of Mid-Missouri will likely see a mix of rain and snow through the weekend.
Forecast models vary slightly on timing and track. A combination of all of them would bring in a rain/snow mix to Mid-Missouri early Saturday, likely before lunch time. Temperatures will be in the 40s Saturday afternoon, allowing rain to mix in with slushy snow flakes.
Saturday night, as temperatures begin to drop near the freezing mark, we will see a transition to accumulating snow. The snow-to-liquid ratio will be low, since temperatures will be somewhat warm through the atmosphere, just below freezing. This indicates we’ll have slushy, dense snow as it falls and accumulates. Forecast models are in fairly good agreement that this will likely bring 2-4″ totals across most of our viewing area. As mentioned above, who gets the most snow will be determined by the track of the storm.
Snow is expected to be to our east by early Sunday evening, with cooler temperatures behind the system.
Details could change slightly as more observations of the atmosphere are sampled through the rest of the week. Stay with ABC 17 Stormtrack for the latest updates, here.
