Monday, December 12, 2011

12/12 - 7pm - A Few Bits About Snow

While things have since quieted down snow-wise, it has been a very snowy start to the season in West Tennessee. Jackson, TN has had 3.3 inches of snow so far this season, which is an astounding figure given that only about 0.1 inches falls on average by this time of year. This total beats out the season totals in many northern cities, some of which are known for their heavy snowfall including Buffalo, New York and Bismarck, North Dakota. Check out the graphic on the left to see a full list of some of the cities that Jackson is beating out. The rain to snow chance on the 21st isn't showing up on the models right now because they're dissolving the upper-level low before it makes it past NW Arkansas, but it's something to keep an eye on. A few flakes may fly further north near Louisville, but even that's not going to be a big deal according to the models. Another system packing precipitation and cold air may try to roll through a couple days before Christmas too, but that's way to far down the road to make guesses for any location at this point.

Speaking of snow, did you know that the Grand Canyon in Arizona gets more snow than Minneapolis, Minnesota? It's true! You may think of Arizona as a dry and hot state, but the higher elevations in the northern regions near Flagstaff get quite a bit of snow. Grand Canyon Village, AZ at the top of the canyon is expected to get 4 to 10 inches of snow by Wednesday morning while Flagstaff could get 12 to 16 inches. These areas are under a Winter Weather Advisory and Winter Storm Warning respectively.

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