Unprecedented winter storm barrels toward Campbell County

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Dangerously cold weather is Campbell County bound and will arrive around midnight tonight. Temps will slide from around 30-degrees at midnight, Friday’s high, to six-degrees above by 4am and minus-one at daybreak Friday. Friday’s unforgiving winds will make it feel like it’s 33-degrees below zero. Bottom line, this will be an impactful, extreme cold event that Campbell County and the region have not been seen for decades, and you’ll want to protect people, pets and pipes.

Key Messages:

1. Extreme cold that has not been seen in this area for decades will build into the area on Thursday night and continue through Saturday. This will be a potentially life-threatening cold event if precautions are not taken.

2. Expected impacts from this extreme event will be gusty winds that may cause power outages, potentially hazardous road conditions from snow/ice, and dangerous wind chills.

The arrival of an extremely cold air mass continues to be the big story for this period. From 7pm Thursday to 7am Friday, most of the area will see around a 30-40 degree drop in temperatures. The cold front will move through quickly, from around midnight to 4am Friday, and dry air aloft builds in a few hours after surface frontal passage. So there will only be a small window when there will be potential for snow accumulation, which appears to be from 1am to 7am Friday with periods of heavy snow at times. For the most part, snow amounts will range from about a quarter inch to one inch for the Valley, with up to 2 inches in the higher elevations.

Despite the light snow amounts, travel around Campbell County and the region may be impacted by the rapid drop in temperatures causing any moisture on roads to quickly freeze; flash freezing. Icy road conditions may persist through Friday and potentially through Saturday as well.

If you plan to use alternative sources of heat or electricity in your home, be careful. Observe all safety precautions to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, electrocution, or a fire. Portable generators should be operated outdoors in a dry and well ventilated area. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 12/22/2022-6AM)