Severe Weather Potential Tonight, Snow Saturday?
Another round of strong storms is possible overnight tonight and through the first part of Friday, with snow showers possible early Saturday.
The Storm Prediction Center has put parts of the region under a slight risk (valid from 7AM Friday onward) with the rest of the region under a marginal risk (valid until 7AM Friday). You can see these two outlooks below. The storms will moving through our area during the time when outlooks swap days, which makes for the somewhat confusing double-outlook.
The overall severe threat looks quite low on the models right now, with the timing of arrival not being very conductive for much instability. That said, the winds above the surface are still very strong which could result in gusty winds, with isolated areas of severe gusts (58MPH+). The modeled radar below shows the line moving into our area around 5/6AM with the back end of the precip moving out around noon.
In addition to these winds heavy rain is expected. 1-2″ of rain is possible outside the mountains with the higher elevations falling more towards the 3-4″ range not out of the question. With the recent heavy rains this could result in some flash flooding so remain alert through the morning hours if you live in a flood prone area.
Once the main band moves out around noon we could see some brief peeks of sun with more showers/storms developing and tracking quickly northeast across the region through the afternoon and evening hours. This is thanks to a very powerful upper level low that will be moving across our area bringing widespread clouds and colder temperatures to the region on Saturday.
Speaking of Saturday, this upper level low will bring air so cold that some snow is not out of the question in areas around Hiawassee, Suches, and Sky Valley. The best timing for this will come early Saturday morning. I anticipate all areas will be rain after 10AM at the latest though the highest elevations could maintain as snow for a bit longer. I’ve outlined the areas in question below.
We’ll see highs on Saturday only reaching into the mid-50’s outside/south of the mountains and only in the 40’s for all mountain areas.
The upper level low will move out by late Saturday allowing sunshine and warm temps to return for your Easter Sunday with highs around 65-70.
Stay tuned for the latest on the severe threat and snow threat and have a great evening.
northgawx 