Updated metro-east forecast: The newest storm timetable. When will conditions be the worst?
The metro-east continues to brace for a three-pronged winter attack of snow, high winds and frigid temperatures Thursday and Friday.
On Thursday morning, Brad Charboneau, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service of St. Louis, provided a general timeline for when the storm will hit and when conditions will be the worst.
Q: When will the snow start?
A: We’ll see a few snowflakes around 9 a.m. or 10 a.m.
Q: When will the snow be the heaviest?
A: Between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. That’s when we’ll have the more accumulating snow.
Q: How much snow can we expect?
A: 1-3 inches.
Q: When will the snow stop?
A: Somewhere after 2 p.m. We could see a few lingering flakes as late as 4 p.m. or 5 p.m.
Q: When will the high winds of 35-45 and occasional 50 mph gusts start?
A: The strongest winds will be delayed until this evening. We’ll see gusts up to 30 mph through the day then, after 5 or 6 p.m. is when we’ll start to see the winds increase again. The strongest gusts will be overnight and into Friday afternoon.
Q: When will wind chills fall to below zero/dangerous levels?
A: Temperatures will start dropping this morning. Wind chills will be below zero by noon and continue to drop. We’ll see the lowest wind chills between midnight and noon Friday — down to 30- to 35-degrees below zero.
Q: When should people stay off the road
A: Thursday and Friday. I want to stress again it’s not all about the snow amounts in this case because we have the wind and really frigid temperatures — this magnifies the impact if you get struck or stranded. There’s more to it than just the snow. We discourage travel unless you have to. If you have to travel, make sure you’re prepared: Have a full tank of gas, things like blankets to keep you warm, a charged cell phone, etc.
Q: Will there be power outages?
A: It’s possible we could see some power outages due to the wind. But we’re not expecting icing on lines, so we’re not expecting a widespread problem.
Q: When can people expect the wind to break?
A: The winds will stay pretty consistent all the way through the day Friday and ...winding down overnight Friday and into Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon, it will stay breezy with 15-20 mph gusts. Then, there will be a gradual winding downs of the winds through Saturday and into Saturday night. But the really strong gusts will be done by midnight Friday.
Q: When can people expect the temperatures to improve?
A: We’ll see wind chills probably staying below zero and in the low single digits until Saturday morning. We won’t see a more noticeable warm-up until Sunday. Temperatures will still be well below normal but not nearly as frigid as what we’re going to see the next couple days. Then we’ll see a more significant warm-up mid-week next week, between Tuesday and Thursday.
The National Weather Service recommends keeping plugged into the forecast as it develops, www.weather.gov.
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 8:08 AM.