SAVANNAH, Ga (WSAV) – With temperatures tumbling below freezing, I know my snow lovers out there are crossing their fingers, hoping we get snow at some point this winter. It will for sure feel like we should over the next week. But will the timing line up as a system crosses the Gulf coast Friday. It has been 7 years since our last snow when we had our 2nd snowiest January in Savannah on record.
7 YEARS AGO
2018 started as frigid as frigid gets! January 1st and 2nd had temperatures only in the 30s for highs and lows in the low 20s and teens. So the setting was ready, set, go for snow! Arctic high pressure sat to our north with a swirling area of low pressure off our coast. This track kept us on the coldest side of the system. No warm air ahead of a frontal passage to keep temperatures above freezing.
So at that point, it wasn’t going to take much for rain to transition into snow and stay snow. And then, for that snow not melt immediately. Temperatures remained below freezing into the morning of January 4th.
COULD WE SEE SNOW THIS TIME AROUND?
There are 2 sets of rain chances at the end of this week. Friday’s forecasted morning temperatures will be below freezing in the upper 20s – 30s through about 9-10 am — cold enough to have winter precipitation here. However, what is lacking is the chance of rain. While a warm front will be near our area in the morning hours, it will depend on its track and if precipitation can graze the area.
This would only give us a LOW chance of some winter precipitation for our INLAND / NORTHERN communities for MAYBE an hour or two Friday morning before transitioning into rain as temperatures warm above 32 degrees. This wouldn’t be enough time to have anything linger on the ground and it would only be for a very isolated part of the area. Again, a very low chance BUT still something fun to see!
The second chance will be our primary chance of rain, from Friday afternoon into Saturday morning along a cold front. “Warm” air will move in ahead of the front – keeping temperatures back above the freezing mark overnight, giving us plain ole rain. This would be TOO warm to support a transition into even a wintry mix for this time period.
However if the track shifts south, closer to freezing or at freezing temperatures could push into our western and northern zones. This would bring in a higher chance of a wintry mix for our far inland and northern communities for a very short amount of time overnight. Not to disappoint my fellow snow lovers – it would not really amount to anything. So absolutely nothing like the 2018 snowfall.
After the front pushes off the coast, arctic air moves right back in again with highs through next week in the mid 50s and lows right around freezing. And of course the good news…lovely sunshine will accompany those bone-chilling temperatures each day.
Be sure to have a way to receive critical weather alerts in the event there are any cold weather or wind watches or warnings issued for the Coastal Empire or Lowcountry. A great tool for that is the WSAV Weather NOW app. It is free and is available in the Apple App Store or Google Play.
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