LOCAL NEWS — Lynchburg will definitely get some amount of snow this weekend but how much still seems to be up for debate. Early Friday morning, Nashville weather officials seem to think Moore County should get five the eight inches of the fluffy stuff while Huntsville officials predicted closer to one to three inches.
On Thursday, we reported that area meteorologists were in a bit of an uproar because so-called “social media weathermen” were posting maps showing that our area could get close to a foot of snow on Sunday. It wasn’t that that prediction was unfounded, local meteorologists said, just premature. Nashville weatherman Davis Nolan of WKRN reminded his viewers on Thursday that reliable forecasts for total accumulations can’t be made until about “48 hours out” from a weather event.
Now that we are officially 48 hours out, Nolan posted around 7:30 a.m. on Friday predicting “significant snow” accumulation for Middle Tennessee including five to eight inches depending on where heavier snow bands set up. Tennessee counties that hug the Alabama state line could see lower snow totals. The National Weather Service Huntsville office included Moore County in their Winter Storm Watch released on Friday morning. (Click here to view that complete advisory.) Their predictions were a little more conservative with snow totals of up to three inches forecast with “higher amounts possible on the plateau.”
Moore County Public Safety Director Jason Deal attended a briefing Friday afternoon with National Weather Service (NWS) officials in Huntsville. He told The Times that the NWS briefing confirmed that significant snow is expected but that the models now show that this system should not produce freezing rain that could turn to ice. That’s good news because it means that power outages due to ice accumulations on tree and power line will be unlikely. However, large amount of heavy, wet snow could still result in outages.
Rain will start late Saturday and transition into snow overnight. By Sunday morning, the precipitation should be all snow. Though the models disagree on the total amount of snow Lynchburg will receive on Sunday, they do all agree that our area will receive some accumulation of snow and locals should prepare accordingly. Local public safety officials and Metro Highway Department will have their collective hands full on Sunday. If you can stay at home and off local roads, you should. If you must drive, be sure to completely clear snow and ice from your vehicle including the windows, roof, and hood.
Regardless of how much snow we get here in Moore County, cold air moves in behind this front so accumulations will likely stick around through Monday. As always, The Lynchburg Times staff will update any community information as soon as we receive it. It’s also a great idea to download the Metro Moore County Public Safety app for ongoing updates. Learn more about it by clicking here. •
{The Lynchburg Times is the only locally-owned newspaper in Lynchburg and also the only woman-owned newspaper in Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}