Big Snow Possibilities
February 11, 2010
We are officially underway! It is sleeting at my house. This is only the tip of the iceberg. It looks like the northern half of Louisiana will get hammered by as much as 8 inches of snow! Don’t be let down if you don’t end up with that much snow. I think everyone north of a DeRidder to Forest Hill to Simmesport line will at least have some snow to play in. My thinking is pretty much the same as yesterday. The colder models are winning out, but it’s still a very close call. My range for snow amounts in Alexandria is a very wide 1-6 inches. This is owing to the fact that one extra degree gives us much more rain and sleet, and a slight cool down of the airmass could mean mostly snow.
The heaviest snow will still likely fall in that Many to Natchitoches to Jena corridor. In that area 3-8 inches of snow is likely. I wouldn’t be absolutely stunned to see 10 inches of snow measured somewhere in this system. The start time for this event is now, but the real meat of the storm won’t arrive until after 3:00 P.M today. It did speed up a bit since yesterday. I think 6:00 P.M until 3:00 A.M is when the heaviest snow will fall. Roads could become impassable due to the volume of snow. While the ground is relatively warm, and temperatures will only fall to near freezing, it is entirely possible that several inches of snow will accumulate on roadways if we change completely to snow.
This is a rare type of snowstorm for this area. Accumulations will exceed what we saw in our December snow north of a Leesville to Woodworth to Simmesport line. There could be power outages in some areas because of the weight of this very heavy wet snow. A good bit of the snow will melt during the day Friday, and will be completely gone (for most) by Saturday afternoon. Enjoy it as it falls, and please be careful on the roads today and tomorrow!
Nick
