MOUNT VERNON — Old Man Winter isn’t going down without a fight.
A winter weather advisory will be in effect for Knox, Richland, Ashland, and Crawford Counties from 3 a.m. Wednesday morning until noon, according to the National Weather Service.
A Winter Weather Advisory is issued when a low pressure system produces a combination of winter weather (snow, freezing rain, or sleet) that presents a hazard, but does not meet warning criteria.
According to the National Weather Service, snow will spread into the area late tonight producing light accumulations. Snow will continue into Wednesday morning with accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. A brief window of sleet or freezing rain may produce a light glaze of ice before transitioning to rain.
Periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain can cause travel difficulties. Expect slippery roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning commute.
In addition, AEP has warned that weather conditions could cause some utility problems on Wednesday morning.
Moisture will blossom over AEP’s East Utilities tonight and Wednesday ahead of a winter storm developing in Texas and heading to the Great Lakes. With a cold air mass in place, snow is expected tonight but will change to rain on Wednesday with warmer air moving in aloft.
However, in some areas temperatures may be slower to warm, so wet snow Tuesday night that mixes with sleet and changes to freezing rain on Wednesday with pockets of moderate icing (0.20-0.40”) are likely. Utility problems may result with this amount of ice, the company stated.
Freezing rain should change to plain rain by late Wednesday evening as temperatures rise above freezing.
In general, the company said 2 to 4 inches of wet snow is expected in AEP Ohio and APCo’s Wheeling District late Tuesday night to Wednesday morning. There may be pockets of 4-6” of wet snow near and just north of the I-70 corridor.
Changes/Thoughts:
There may be heavier bursts of wet snow in AEP Ohio and APCO’s Wheeling District with some utility problems possible.
The heaviest, wet snow (4”+) now appears to occur north of the APCo service territory with more sleet mixing in over APCo.
Slightly less icing in S. APCo as main corridor of precipitation looks to be to the north.
There may be periods of lighter precipitation during the day on Wednesday which should keep widespread icing less than previously thought.
Summary:
Precipitation starts as wet snow Tuesday night and transitions to sleet and then freezing rain on Wednesday morning.
Winds on Wednesday will be out of the northeast to southeast sustained at 10-20 mph with gusts of 20-35 mph in APCo, with strongest winds in the higher terrain.
