RECORD COLD this Morning, Freezing Rain/Ice Coming Thursday

WBBJ 7 Forecast Update

January 17, 2024

Joel Barnes,

WBBJ 7 Forecast Update:

We dipped down to -10° in Jackson, the coldest day since 1985 and tying the 4th coldest day on record. The coldest on record is -13° back in 1963. Freezing rain will return Thursday morning and transition to a cold rain into the afternoon. Expect 0.05-0.10″ of ice, a solid glaze. We might even see some light snow Thursday night if the showers linger around long enough. Another cold weekend is coming! Catch the full forecast details right here.

RECORD COLD THIS WEEK:

Temperatures stayed below 15° for a 72 hour period from Sunday night until Wednesday afternoon for most of West Tennessee. Jackson set record low maximum temperatures for both Monday (12°) and Tuesday (13°). On top of that, Wednesday morning was the coldest day since 1985 and the 4th coldest day in recorded history in Jackson dropping to -10°. The coldest day ever was January 24, 1963 with a recorded low of -13°.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY:

A winter weather advisory has been issued for all of West Tennessee from Thursday morning through Thursday evening. Freezing rain will move in during the mid to late morning and linger into the afternoon. We should see the freezing rain transition to a cold rain into the afternoon and maybe even some light snow mixing in as well. Most of us will see a solid glaze of ice and the worse case scenario looks to be a 0.10″ of ice. Prepare for slick sidewalks, roads and bridges on Thursday.

TONIGHT:

Wednesday started out extremely cold in the morning but we did warm up into the afternoon. Highs on Wednesday reached the low 30s helping to melt some of the snow, but most of it still remains. Wednesday night lows will fall down to the upper teens allowing the roads to refreeze again tonight. The brief warm up was from the winds turning back to the south in the middle of the week and the sunshine we saw. We will stay dry on Wednesday night across the Mid South but another system looks to be on the way for Thursday.

THURSDAY:

The next storm system is coming on Thursday and the forecast will be very challenging for this system. We are expecting highs on Thursday to reach the mid 30s. The showers will move in during the morning and continue into the late afternoon. The precipitation will look to start as freezing rain and depending on how warm we get in the afternoon, we could see the wintry mix transition to a cold rain.

The rain will quickly transition to a wintry mix and then maybe even a few snow showers after the sunsets if the showers stick around long enough. We could see a decent icing from the system, ice accumulations will range from a glaze and up to 0.10″. Some may end up with another dusting or 1/2″ of snow depending on if the rain turns over to snow or not. The forecast being off by 1-2° could make a big difference on what kind or precipitation we see during the day.

We will be watching it very closely during the day. Thursday night lows will back down to the upper teens or low 20s. The showers will move out by Friday morning but both Friday and the upcoming weekend will likely be quite cold again. Some single digit mornings will likely return for both weekend mornings. Do not let your winter guard down yet. There is a chance for some folks to see over 0.10″ of ice but as of now, that seems unlikely for most of us. But a glaze of ice can still create some major travel issues.

FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND:

Friday will be a dry but cold day with highs only reaching the mid 20s. We should see clouds sticking around for the first half of the day and they will move out Friday night making for another very cold morning on Saturday. Saturday morning lows are forecast again to fall down to the low single digits and another wind chill advisory will likely be issued.

Highs on Saturday will struggle to get above 20° but we should see mostly sunny skies. The winds on Saturday will come out of the north before transitioning back to the southeast on Sunday. Saturday night will again be cold with lows falling down to the mid single digits. Sunday we will warm up a bit to the mid 30s and again we should see plenty of sunshine. Sunday night into next Monday will bring a start to some warmer weather back to the Mid South.

NEXT WEEK:

Rain showers will be returning Monday night and stick around all day Tuesday. The rain will linger into Wednesday as well. Some people might see another 1-2″ of rain. The rain, plus the melting snow, could lead to some flooding concerns next week and that is something we are also going to be watching in the 7 Storm Team Weather Center. Highs will warm up next week from the mid 40 Monday, to low 50s Tuesday and upper 50s on Wednesday. The winds will come out of the south and it will be a cloudy first half of next week. Some storms may try to mix in during the week but as of now, we are not expecting a round of severe storms to accompany the rain.

FINAL THOUGHT:

Some areas saw over 4″ of rain this week between the first two systems and snow on top of it. Water levels are going to be running high for the next week or so. EXTREME bitter life threatening cold will linger through the weekend so please be prepared as we are also under a winter weather advisory too. Another system is coming Thursday and that may bring a wintry mix and some small ice and snow accumulations with it as well, so do not let you guard down West Tennessee.

Here are some winter safety tips and reminders for dealing with the slick road and extreme cold that will be lingering all week long for us.