Winter Weather Advisory issued for Saturday

The National Weather Service in Paducah has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Saturday afternoon and night. For the Cape Girardeau area, 1-2 inches of snow accumulation are expected, with slightly higher amounts possible to the north.

Although this is not a particularly large amount of snow, the forecasters are concerned about potential hazards caused by the sudden drop in temperatures and the gusty winds. The advisory bulletin states:

THIS POTENT WEATHER SYSTEM WILL BRING AN ARCTIC BLAST OF AIR WITH A MYRIAD OF IMPACTS. STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS WILL IMPACT TRAVEL AND ALSO BRING IN COLD AIR WITH SINGLE DIGIT TO LOWER TEENS WIND CHILLS. PLUNGING SUB FREEZING TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE FLASH FREEZE AND BLACK ICE POTENTIAL FOR ANY RESIDUAL GROUND OR ROADWAY MOISTURE. IN ADDITION, WINDS MAY PRODUCE REDUCED VISIBILITY WHERE BLOWING SNOW IS MODERATE TO HEAVY.

We are still expected to see mostly POUR (Plain Old Uninteresting Rain) during the day Satuday, but the temperature will plummet below freezing at some point in the afternoon, and then things will get interesting.