The first Winter Weather Advisory of the 2020-2021 winter season has been issued by the National Weather Service, with minor snow accumulations predicted for the northern Cumberland Plateau region after a strong cold front passes through the region on Monday.
The Winter Weather Advisory will take effect at 4 p.m. Monday afternoon, continuing through the night before ending at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning. Officially, the advisory is for 1 to 2 inches of snowfall for Scott County and the rest of the northern plateau. However, much of the minor accumulations that do occur will be above 2,000 ft. in elevation. That means most residential areas will not be significantly impacted.
Rain is expected to change to snow by late Monday morning, with temperatures falling through the 30s during the day on Monday. However, temperatures are expected to remain above freezing until near or just after sunset, meaning that snow will be falling during daylight hours with above freezing temperatures — not ordinarily a recipe for deteriorating road conditions in the Mid-South region.
A better chance for accumulating snowfall will come with sub-freezing temperatures that descend on the region after sunset. However, snow showers are expected to taper off fairly early Monday evening, leaving a relatively narrow window for accumulation.
The bigger story, perhaps, is the cold air that will follow. The NWS is forecasting a low of 22 degrees in Oneida Monday night, with a high only in the mid 30s on Tuesday and a low of 20 by daybreak Wednesday morning. That will easily be the coldest temperatures of the season.
Even though the potential for accumulating snow will be limited outside the mountains, rapidly falling temperatures Monday night will create the potential for isolated slick spots on area roadways for the Tuesday morning commute.
