Freezing rain returns to Mid-Missouri
Falling temperatures Tuesday night into Wednesday morning could lead to some potential slick spots on bridges and overpasses for far northern portions of Mid-Missouri. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Chariton, Randolph, Macon, and Monroe counties until 6 pm Wednesday.
What is causing freezing rain for portions of Mid-Missouri? It has to do with what meteorologist call a "warm-nose" in the atmosphere. Below-freezing temperatures in the upper atmosphere near the clouds allows moisture to freeze into snowflakes falling. A thin layer in the atmosphere at the mid layers causing this falling snow to melt for a brief period of time. This allows the snow to melt into rain, but just before it makes contact with the ground, a small near-surface level in the atmosphere remains at or below freezing. This leads to the rain droplet freezing when making contact with the ground coating surfaces.
Early Wednesday morning after 2 am a light scattered freezing drizzles will move in north of Highway 24.
ground temperatures will warm by mid to late morning allowing for most ice that collevcts on elevated surfaces to melt.
For updates on latest conditions make sure to tune in Wednesday morning from 5-7 am.
