Ice storm for the morning commute brings dangerous conditions through the day
***ICE STORM WARNING AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY***
THURSDAY: As a cold front moves in Thursday morning, a wintry mix is possible before precipitation ends by noon as colder air moves in. Freezing rain will increase west of HWY 63 early this morning, bringing accumulating ice on roadways for the morning commute. Areas to the southeast will see the opportunity for rain and heavy downpours, but as temperatures remain just above freezing most of the roadways will be wet. As the bulk of the rain and freezing rain moves to the east, we could see a quick changover to snowfall in our northern counties. With the brief change snow accumulation won’t be much. Winds through the day pick up with sustained winds up to 20-25 mph, gusting up to 35 mph. The gusty winds combined with ice on power lines could lead to power outages where ice accumulation is highest. Behind the front, expect temperatures to drastically drop through the day Thursday. By the evening commute home temperatures will bein the teens with wind chills close to 0.
TONIGHT: Skies this evening clear quickly in the wake of the cold front. With winds out of the northwest from 10-15 mph, and gusty conditions, temperatures plummet into the single digits through the morning. Wind chills will drop down to -5 in Columbia. Bundle up through the night and morning!
EXTENDED: Highs will only reach the low 20s Friday, dropping back into the teens Friday night. It looks like we’ll warm slightly this upcoming weekend, but Saturday still looks on the cool side. Highs will rise just above freezing into the mid 30s with mostlly sunny skies. By Saturday night and Sunday we see another chance of rain/ snow mix. Areas north of I-70 see the best chance of snow, making a changeover to the mix to the south. Late in the day Sunday, the rain and snow mix moves off to the east clearing out for the beginning of the work week. We remain in an active weather pattern through the middle of next week with rain and snow chances increasing late in the day on Monday.
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