Early AM winter weather udpate

The winter weather scenario appears to be playing out as expected so far. Rain is falling across the region with temperatures dropping right on cue. The NWS has upgraded the Winter Weather Advisory for Tipton and Crittenden Counties to a Winter Storm Warning, while Shelby and Fayette Counties continue under that Winter Weather Advisory. The upgrade for Crittenden and Tipton (as well as points just north, east and west of those counties) is due to the expected accumulations of snow and sleet. Up to 3" is expected in the warned areas. For northern Shelby and Fayette Counties, I look for more sleet and freezing rain to mix with the rain in the next few hours, with possible accumulations to 0.10-0.20" of ice. Southern portions of these counties will likely not see quite that much ice, and north MS will see little if any sleet.

Further updates will be posted as necessary. Be sure to visit MWN for the current conditions, forecast, storm warnings, and MWN StormView Radar with winter mode.