Mother Nature is trading her torrential downpour for colder temperatures and a 100 percent chance of snow today.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Morristown said a low pressure system will move into the Tri-Cities area, bringing with it low temperatures and the possibility of about an inch of snow.
“It’s going to help to bring some moisture up our way and as that pressure system passes to our south, it’s going to pull in some colder air on the back side, so tomorrow we can probably expect some changeover to snow,” Meteorologist Sam Roberts said Wednesday.
Unlike the stationary front that saw more than five inches of rain fall over a three-day period earlier this week, this new system is expected to move fairly quickly.
“By the early hours Friday, it’s out of here, so it’s going to be a brief system,” Roberts said.
Although the system is expected to move fast, Roberts said portions of our region could see as much as 2 inches of snow.
Temperatures are expected to begin dropping by 5 p.m. The forecast calls for a low around 22.
Friday’s forecast calls for a high near 38, with a low around 19.
Roberts said temperatures should warm up slightly Saturday before dropping significantly Sunday night into early Monday morning.
“The big story is we have a pretty strong cold front coming through Monday night where our temperatures are going be near 30 and lower 30s Tuesday,” he said.
The region is expected to experience at least two days of low temperatures in the mid-to-high teens.
That blast of arctic air could see a return of snow, Roberts said.
Roberts also said this storm system is separate from the one that brought non-stop rainfall to the region at the start of the week.
The NWS recorded 5.35 inches of rainfall in Johnson City, 5.05 inches of rainfall in Unicoi County and 4.14 inches in parts of Carter County.
While it’s not uncommon to see times of heavy rainfall this time of year, Roberts said this week’s storms were an “above-average event.”
“In the winter months, it is common to get heavy rain events during this of year, but this one was a little longer than normal. This was definitely a prolonged event,” he said.