Could the Evansville Area See Two-Feet of Snow January 15th or 16th?
Are you Team Let It Snow, or Team Oh Hell NO?
If you're the type of person who loves a good snowfall, keep reading. If you're the type of person who hates snow, you'll want to keep reading too, because as it stands right now, there's a chance you'll be happy either way when the weekend rolls around.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Paducah, along with our local meteorologists in the Evansville area are currently keeping their eyes on a winter weather system that could do one of two things by the time it makes its way to our area this weekend. It could give us a whole bunch of nothing, or it could give us nearly two feet of snow.
Based on this post from the NWS this morning on their Facebook page, it certainly seems the former will be likely. Southern Indiana and western Kentucky may see a light dusting if we see anything, while southern Illinois and eastern Missouri face the brunt of it.
However, a friend of mine who lives in Fort Wayne and classifies as a fan of snow shared this post from the meteorologist the ABC-TV affiliate in that area which shows will all see something, particularly western Kentucky who is almost completely covered by a pink/purple blob (signifying a higher amount of snow).
It certainly appears to be an all-or-nothing scenario. So, which is it? I spoke with Meteorologist Joe Bird this morning (Wednesday, January 12th) and asked him what the models he works with are showing him. He said it's too early to tell right now because the weather system that looks to be heading this way is still just off the west coast of the country over the Pacific Ocean, but despite that, some models he's looking at are showing we'll get nothing, while others are predicting the possibility of up to 24-inches of snow. Joe said what we will or won't get depends on a low-pressure system they're watching. Take a listen:
Farmer's Almanac Prediction
If we do see some snow this weekend, regardless of the amount, it will be the second time in a week which won't be surprising to the people behind the Farmer's Almanac who predicted back in September in their annual winter weather forecast the Ohio Valley (i.e. us), "will have more than their fair share of cold and flaky weather in January."
If their prediction holds true, and so far it looks like it has, this won't be the last snowfall we see before the spring. They went on to say there's a chance we could find ourselves in a "winter whopper" by the end of February. Keep that snow shovel handy.