Estimated snowfall amounts keep climbing for Tallahassee
Tallahassee is expected to wake up Wednesday to a veritable winter wonderland — with a potentially thick if not record-breaking blanket of snow on the ground along with icy and dangerous roads.
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee predicted 2-3 inches of snow for the Capital City, though higher amounts were possible. Some parts of the forecast area, particularly southeast Alabama and southwest Georgia, could see a half foot or more of snow.
“Regardless of wintry precipitation, extremely cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills are expected overnight,” the National Weather Service wrote in its forecast discussion. “Forecast wind chills are in the 4 to 17 degree range, which can absolutely be dangerous or even deadly to unprotected persons.”
Wright Dobbs, meteorologist with NWS Tallahassee, said forecast snowfall amounts were trending up and freezing rain amounts down because the approaching air mass was coming in a bit colder than earlier forecast.
“With our snowfall amounts a little bit higher than we had (initially) and the air mass looking a little bit colder … there will probably be a lot of white outside when folks wake up in the morning due to all the accumulating snow and/or sleet,” said Wright Dobbs, NWS meteorologist.
The snowfall was expected to come close to or shatter the city’s all-time record of 2.8 inches set in February 1958. Dobbs said how much snow or ice falls will hinge in part on whether a warmer layer of air moves into the upper atmosphere
“If you don’t have that warmer air a couple thousand feet above our heads, generally, most of the precipitation that falls is going to be snow instead of freezing rain or sleet,” Dobbs said. “It only takes one or two degrees difference.
He said some models are showing the airmass a little warmer and others showing it staying below freezing.
“That’s why you see some higher (forecast) snowfall totals,” he said Tuesday. “And then you see some which may be actually lower than our forecast right now.”
Leon County Public Works spent Tuesday putting sand on bridges and elevated roadways and putting barricades near bridges meant to encourage safe driving, said Matt Cavell, Leon County spokesman.
“Our Public Works crews will remain on call throughout the wintry precipitation into (Wednesday) so as to close roadways if necessary or put signs out to encourage drivers to drive with caution,” Cavell said.
Dobbs cautioned that dangerous driving conditions could persist into the day and that melting ice and snow could refreeze overnight. Patches of ice could remain, especially in places that don’t get much sun.
“Just because the snowfall and the precipitation is going to be out of the area by the time folks wake up … it doesn’t mean the impacts are going to be gone,” he said.
Contact Jeff Burlew at [email protected] or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Winter storm: Snowfall estimates rising into record territory
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