Brutal Cold and Snow Potential

Snow Potential

As of now, we are under a Winter Weather Advisory from Sunday morning to early Monday morning. This advisory is in effect for 2-4 inches of snow along with gusty winds which will result in blowing and drifting.

Wilmington's current snow forecast

    I am not confident that Columbus and surrounding suburbs will see that much snow accumulation. Areas on the western side of Franklin county have a better chance of this accumulation, while the east side is likely to see much less with totals of 1, to maybe 2 inches by Monday morning. The reason I think the snow totals will be low is because our temperatures will rise to the upper 30's to near 40 by Sunday afternoon resulting in a change over to all rain. The areas that change over to rain completely will likely see minor snow accumulations during Sunday night. Southeastern Ohio will miss out on almost all of the snow and should stay rain most of the day and evening. Northern and Western Ohio will be in the sweet spot with up to 12" possible with potentially blizzard like conditions. 

The forecast confidence in regards to the snow is currently low because a shift in the storm track by just 50 miles would greatly impact our snowfall forecast. If the storm tracks further east, we will likely see upwards of a half a foot in central Ohio, while a shift to the west will result in nearly zero accumulation and all rain. 

I WILL UPDATE THE SNOW POTENTIAL IN THE MORNING AROUND 8 AM. 

Incredibly Cold

The forecast confidence for Monday and Tuesday is very high. I am anticipating many record lows to be set along with the coldest air in 20 years. This cold will impact the entire State of Ohio and much of the Eastern and Central United States. Wind Chills in Northern Alabama could dip all the way down to minus 20!!!  Here in Ohio I do expect our temperatures to drop to near 20 below zero with wind chills between 30-40 below. This kind of cold can result in frostbite in less than 10 minutes, hypothermia and can even be deadly if the proper precautions are not taken. 

We are under a Wind Chill Warning from tomorrow night through Tuesday afternoon. This warning is rare for our area (last issued in January of 2009) and is warning us of wind chills to -40.

The timing of the cold will result in an extended winter break/ long weekend for all schools in central Ohio, as I am 100% sure that every school district will cancel both Monday and Tuesday. On Friday, Gahanna and Worthington (everyone else was still on winter break) closed due to wind chills approaching -10, so if that was too cold, then Monday and Tuesday will be more than enough to give everyone two snow days. 

Please do not take this cold lightly! You may not think it will be that bad, but it has been 20 years since temperature of this magnitude have occurred and your body is not able to handle it. If you do have to be outside cover as much skin as possible and dress in layers. If possible, postpone all outdoor activities until Wednesday, as our temperatures will begin moderating. 

Stay Safe, I will update again Sunday morning!!

Widespread winter weather alerts in the United States