Flash freezing and freezing drizzle possible, as temperatures rapidly fall
THURSDAY: A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for all of Mid-Missouri through the day. A huge temperature gradient exists across Mid-Missouri, from the upper 50s and lower 60s southeast, to the lower 30s to the northeast. Rain has been falling ahead of the front for several hours now. As the front clears Mid-Missouri, we’ll see much colder and drier air filter in. This will allow for some wintry mix to occur into the afternoon hours, although it’s looking to be more of a freezing drizzle event. Very little ice is expected, as surface temperatures have thawed out quite a bit for Mid-Missouri. However, with temperatures rapidly falling, we’ll likely see flash freezing occur. This will make roads extremely slick into the evening. A wintry mix is already occurring in extreme northwestern Mid-Missouri, with the mix likely arriving in Columbia and Jefferson City as early as 1 PM. This won’t be a high impact event, but there is a chance we’ll see some glazing of ice on roadways. West to northwest winds will increase to 20 mph, gusting to 30 mph and producing wind chills in the low teens by evening.
TONIGHT: What freezing drizzle and wintry mix we do see will exit the region around 5-6 PM. Freezing is expected on roadways that are left untreated through the night. Very windy conditions expected on the backside of the front, with winds out of the northwest up to 28 mph and gusts as high as 35 through the night. This will give way to wind chill values near -10 degrees by morning under clear skies.
EXTENDED: The Arctic air will stick around through the weekend, dropping low temperatures into the single digits Saturday night with daytime highs only in the lower 20s. We are watching a couple fast moving areas of low pressure which will move through this weekend. The first of these “Clippers” will move through early Saturday but won’t have enough moisture to produce snow as it move into Mid-Missouri. The other which moves through Sunday afternoon could allow for some brief snow showers across Mid-Missouri with a possible dusting of snow. Next week starts off below freezing with warming temperatures possible past Wednesday. Watch ABC 17 news and check back on our website for the latest updates to your forecast.
