Lee Ellyson

(Trending Less Snow, More Ice/Rain) It's all about the Wind Direction... Cold air still in place now due to a Northeast wind, but you can clearly see the 'Warm Wedge' just seemingly come out of nowhere overnight on the western side of the Appalachians thanks to a wind shift out of the East and Southeast. This air warms because it sinks off the higher terrain and is compressed. Imagine rubbing your hands together, or putting air into a bicycle tire - you can feel the warmth generated by squeezing that air together. Same process here. So, if it weren't for the Appalachian Mountains - or more specifically where most of us are in relation to them - this warm wedge wouldn't be an issue. Ultimately, in this case, it's a smaller area of low-pressure down in Alabama that tracks into the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia that's driving the wedge. This compressional warming means that snow will change to Sleet and Freezing Rain as we get closer to Dawn, and even just a Cold Rain into Sunday Afternoon. However, places further north and west are usually a little more resistant to the wedge since they are further removed from the spine of the Appalachians. Due to this, interior Ohio and parts of NE Kentucky can keep a wintry mix going longer - but since the Wedge is trending stronger, even the Ohio River counties will see more of a Wintry Mix and possibly a brief period of Cold Rain Sunday Morning/Afternoon. As for the Eastern Mountains (East of U.S. Route 19) - the air should stay cold enough for Wintry Precip/Icing the entire time since they are on the other side of the Mountains. While this will cut into snow totals a good bit, especially for I-64 and points South, much of the I-79 corridor, and also U.S. Route 19 - note how colder air comes crashing back in Sunday Evening into Monday Morning as the wind shifts more westerly in the wake of the departing low-pressure. Temps will fall back into the teens, and all of that slush/moisture will easily freeze into ice. Also, some wraparound snow showers could drop a fluffy inch or two. Growing up in Sissonville, I strongly disliked the Warm Wedge 😂 - but I respect it now, as it proves that local physical processes can sometimes overcome large scale processes that would otherwise dictate the weather. Just the way the wind blows sometimes.