Potential for Rain to Turn to Snow Soon 2:30am Update for Friday, December 23, 2022

**UPDATE** Macon Media has started an open thread on Facebook

 Here is an update on the progress of the weather system that is moving into the region using a map and data from the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

It is currently raining in most of the county and the question is will the cold air reach us before the moisture has moved out?

There are a couple of bands of moisture in eastern Tennessee and in western North Carolina that will pass through Macon County in the next hour or so, and an area of snow west of Chatannooga that has the potential to reach us if it does not dry up.

Information on how to read the map is posted below.

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Published at 2:22am on Friday, December 23, 2022

Precipitation Type

Precipitation type relies on the "top down" method, where the initial precipitation type is modified as it falls to the ground. Our algorithm first searches for the highest 50 mb layer (in the lowest 5 km AGL) with RH > 80% and upward motion. The initial precipitation type in this layer is defined as: rain if temperature > 0 C; freezing rain if temperature > -5 C; a mix of freezing rain and snow if temperature between -5 and -9 C; and snow if the temperature is <= -9 C.

After establishing the initial type, precipitation then falls through the temperature profile and changes if it encounters layers with temperatures above freezing (melts) or below freezing (remains frozen or re-freezes). Deeper and warmer layers result in melting to all rain, while shallower above-freezing layers result in only partial melting. This process continues down to the ground where the final precipitation type is assigned.

Map Legend:
0 - RA: Rain
1 - ZL-/ZR: Freezing Drizzle/Light Freezing Rain
2 - ZR: Freezing Rain
3 - ZR/IP: Mix of Freezing Rain and Sleet
4 - IP-: Light Sleet
5 - IP: Sleet
6 - IP/SN: Mix of Sleet and Snow
7 - SN-: Light Snow
8 - SN: Snow
9 - SN+: Heavy Snow
10- UK: Unknown