Light Snow Event #2 and Another Cold shot next week...

Last night was a wild evening again in the mountains. Temperatures dropped 20 degrees in 1.5-2 hours. What began as rain turned to ice and eventually THUNDER SNOW!!! Heavy Snow started falling in Boone around 9:00 pm last evening along with thunder, lightning and winds to 60 mph. Roads were extremely hazardous this morning along with many reports of near white-out conditions. Forecast snow totals where on the money with dusting-1" in the far east, 2-3" where most people live and 3-5"+ on the western side of the county. Beech and Sugar both reported 6"+ of snow through today.

Forecast Discussion: Temperatures will fall rapidly tonight as winds begin to slack off some. Valley's in the mountains will fall deep in the teens and maybe a few single digits. Boone should fall to about 15 and the ridge tops should hold steady or warm slightly. Temperatures in the foothills should fall to about 20-22  and 22-25 in the Piedmont. Tomorrow will be slightly warmer, temperatures will approach the 32 degree mark in the mountains, 42-45 in the Foothills and 45-47 in the Piedmont.

Tomorrow night another small but potent upper level disturbance will approach the mountains. Snow will break out later tomorrow evening. Expect a dusting - 2" for most with 2-3" at the higher elevations near the Tennessee line. A few flurries or light snow showers are also possible in the Foothills and northern Piedmont. Tomorrow nights event should not produce near the problems on the roads that we saw this morning in the mountains. Temperatures will moderate as we head into the first of next week. Rain should arrive Tuesday morning before another strong cold front crashes through the area Wednesday. Snow showers will again be possible Wednesday in the mountains behind this strong cold front.

Tomorrow nights snow map:

Long Range: Next weeks cold shot should last 3-4 days before moderating. The rest of January will feature some warm spells and cold shots with wetter than average conditions. Look for a Change to colder weather by the end of January and the First of February. Overall temperatures will be much cool than they have been for most of the winter and by the beginning of February the pattern change should be complete. I still expect to see several snow events from February-March in the Foothills and Piedmont locations.

Update: 1.13.12
10:30pm