Light snow showers will move into the Cumberland Plateau region late Friday night and continue through Saturday morning, with minor accumulations expected.
The National Weather Service is forecasting 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation in the “higher elevations” of the plateau. Elsewhere, the weather bureau says, half an inch of accumulation is possible.
The NWS’s Morristown weather forecast office opted against issuing a Winter Weather Advisory for the northern plateau, due to the expected minor nature of accumulations. However, in a Special Weather Statement published Friday afternoon, the NWS highlighted the potential for 1 to 2 inches of snowfall. In a forecast discussion also published Friday afternoon, the NWS said that “one to two inches (of sow) seems plausible for the northern plateau.”
Despite the broad snow forecast, the NWS’s point forecast for the Oneida area is for half an inch to an inch of accumulation.
To the west, Fentress and Pickett counties are among several counties along the northern plateau and the Highland Rim that are included in a Winter Weather Advisory that was issued by the NWS’s Nashville weather forecast office. The advisory, which takes effect at 10 p.m. EST, calls for 1 to 2 inches of accumulation.
Fentress and Pickett counties are among the Middle Tennessee counties covered by the NWS’s Nashville office, while Scott County is among the East Tennessee counties covered by the NWS’s Morristown office.
At 8 p.m., radar showed numerous snow showers developing across the region but primarily still west of Nashville. It is anticipated that the best opportunity for accumulating snow along the northern plateau will be from between midnight and daybreak until mid to late morning.
The latest run of the usually reliable HRRR short-range weather model depicts an inch of snow or less for much of the northern plateau, including Scott County. That lines up with other models as well, as all indications are that the scant nature of the available moisture will limit accumulation potential.
