Rare snow on Christmas a possibility this year

By KRISTIN M. HALL
Associated Press
NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennesseans might not have to dream about a white Christmas this year as forecasters are predicting that snow could fall over much of the state this holiday weekend.
The National Weather Service offices in Nashville and Morristown are keeping a close eye on a storm system expected to move into the South this weekend.
Bobby Boyd, meteorologist in Nashville, said the storm that is currently dumping rain on the southwest U.S. will push into the south and cold air from the north could turn the moisture into snow by Friday evening and into Saturday.
“We are thinking one to two inches across most of Middle Tennessee, but the Cumberland Plateau could see up to four inches,” he said.
Snow on Christmas is rare for Tennessee. The last time a measurable amount of snow fell on Christmas in Nashville was in 1993. It has only snowed nine times on Christmas in Nashville since record-keeping began.
The storm is expected to start out as a mixture of snow, sleet and rain on Christmas Eve and then turn into snow that should continue throughout Saturday.
Derek Eisentrout, hydrometeorological technician with the weather service in Morristown, said on Wednesday the amount of snow that could fall in East Tennessee is hard to predict right now.
“They are all over the map and it all depends on if the low travels further north or south,” he said.
The weather service said that the most likely places for snow are in northern Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains and other higher elevations.
Eisentrout said that they updating their predictions as the storm system moves closer, but he said there’s plenty of anticipation.
“It’s a popular topic,” he said.
The weather service in Memphis was also predicting one to two inches of snow across the Mid-South, mainly east of the Mississippi River. Forecasters warned travelers to stay informed about the weather this weekend.
Boyd said this December has been about 9 degrees colder than normal in Nashville.

Published in The Messenger 12.23.10

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