FRIGID! Mid-South Braces for Polar Plunge, Snow Possible

Forecasters are predicting a major snowstorm hitting much of the U.S. this week, potentially threatening Christmas travel plans. The Mighty 990 KWAM news team and severe storm center will keep you updated on the storm’s progress throughout the week.

The National Weather Service wrote on Twitter Sunday, “A major storm system is forecast to impact much of the Nation leading up to Christmas Eve, with widespread gusty winds, areas of heavy rain and heavy snow, as well as bitter cold in its wake.”

The National Weather Service office in Memphis warned that temperatures will dip down to the single digits on Thursday night. And there’s a possibility of accumulating snowfall on Friday.

It is expected to be some of the coldest air to hit the Memphis area since the 1980s.

The coldest ? December airmass since 1989 will slam into the Mid-South Thursday. Temperatures will plummet into the single digits Thursday night and wind chills will drop well below zero. Winter precipitation is also likely and could cause impacts. #tnwx #mswx #mowx #arwx pic.twitter.com/uHGnWQTCod

— NWS Memphis (@NWSMemphis) December 19, 2022

Other forecasters warned similarly.

“Our confidence is growing. And what that means is that there’s more agreement on the forecast data, so the significant winter storm becomes more likely. The timing right now is that this could last into Christmas weekend. For some, it’s a nightmare. For others, this could be dreaming of a white Christmas come true,” Fox Weather meteorologist Amy Freeze said.

According to Accuweather, the storm will send a “wide swath of snow, rain and fierce winds from the Plains to the Atlantic Seaboard. The intensifying storm will coincide with a surge of frigid air that will send temperatures to bone-chilling levels through the holiday weekend and could be one of the most intense and prolonged periods of Arctic air in decades during Christmastime. The plummeting temperatures with the storm could also lead to concerns of a rapid freeze-up.”

Accuweather also said that the travel outlook on Dec. 22 is “poor” for much of the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states.

Accuweather chief meteorologist Jon Porter stated, “This storm will likely become intense, feeding on the extremely sharp variation between the surging arctic air arriving from the Central states and relatively warm air across the southeastern U.S. Major East Coast storms over the decades have occurred in this type of setup, bringing the risk for heavy snow and rain, gusty winds, coastal flooding, severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes on the southern side of the storm.”