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| WKLY posted this gloomy image of stranded vehicles on I-65 in Bullett County, Kentucky. |
Still, it's going to take a lot to get through it.
At least 3,000 commercial flights were canceled nationwide because of the storm, so that will have a ripple effect across the country.
Some areas got a rude awakening with this storm. In parts of the Southeast, areas like northern Mississippi and Alabama, temperatures soared well into the 70s yesterday ahead of the cold front.
Which meant some cities had people outside in shorts and t-shirts at the exact same moment these cities were under winter storm warnings. In Tupelo, Mississippi, it was a rather humid 75 degrees at 2 p.m. Wednesday. By 3 p.m, it was down to 55 degrees. Early this morning, it was snowing and 25 degrees in Tupelo.
In Jackson, Mississippi, yesterday's high temperature was a toasty 82 degrees. At dawn today, it was 32 degrees with freezing rain.
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| Buried car in Rineyville, Kentucky this morning. Photo from Twitter, @EmilyGelaps. |
Kentucky is pretty screwed this morning, that's for sure.
The National Weather Service in Louisville, Kentucky said 12 to 20 inches of snow is expected in central Kentucky.
The NWS noted that roof collapses are possible in that area as Kentucky is unaccustomed to such heavy snow. Some buildings aren't designed for nearly two feet of heavy, wet snow.
Already, a full two feet of snow has been reported in Grayson County, Kentucky, and several towns report about 20 inches. It was still snowing early this morning as these reports came in.
WLKY-TV in Louisville says large chunks of Interstate 65 are shut down and many drivers are stranded out there. The Weather Channel says some motorists have been stranded on the highway for as long as 12 hours.
The National Guard is deploying to help those who are stranded. A photo posted on the WLKY web site shows
This is coming after heavy rain and snowmelt earlier yesterday produced flooding. Imagine getting a foot of snow during a flood. Ugh.
Tonight, temperatures in Kentucky could reach all time lows for the month of March.
It's almost as bad in West Virginia. Almost the entire state is under a flood warning as rivers are over their banks from yesterday's steady rains. Now it's snowing across all of West Virginia, in what the National Weather Service in Charleston, West Virginia is calling "a good ole Appalachian snowstorm" of six to 14 inches today.
The snow has moved into the East Coast. Conditions deteriorated rapidly around Washington DC, just in time for the morning commute. Snowfall rates of one inch an hour or more are likely in that area.
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| Highways were glare ice in Fort Worth, Texas early this morning and few motorists dared to drive. Sunshine should melt much of the ice off highways later today. |
A band of very heavy snow was also pushing into the Philadelphia area, and the southern half of New Jersey this morning.
The storm will brush southern New England, but it's unclear if Boston will get as much as two inches of snow. That amount would break the record for the most snow in one winter.
The snow will entire miss northern New England, but it will be cold there. Below zero readings are due in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine tonight.
Northern New England will also get a bit of light snow over the weekend, but it won't be extreme.
Even if Boston doesn't break its snow record with this storm, don't worry, there will be more chances.
Everybody has been talking up a spell of warmer, drier weather in the Northeast that would melt some of the snow and give people hope for spring.
That warm spell probably will happen to some extent, but to me, this upcoming break in the cold and snow is a temporary blip in a persistent weather pattern that has lasted for the most part for two years and for some reason has become semi-permanent.
Signs point toward more winter cold and possible snowstorms from the northern Plains to the East Coast after about March 19 or 20.
That's all pretty iffy, and I can't give details as to how much cold will return and when snowstorms will hit and how big those will be.
But for you last three winter lovers left in the northern United States, even if there's a thaw next week, it ain't over yet.
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