LUBBOCK, Texas — KLBK Chief Meteorologist Jacob Riley has your Tuesday evening winter weather update.
Weather Aware Days remain in effect for Wednesday and Thursday, February 1st, and 2nd, 2023 as an impactful winter storm continues to bring a wintry mix of precipitation to the South Plains.
A Winter Storm is continuing to send waves of wintry precipitation into the South Plains. The heaviest batches for our region will likely arrive tonight into Wednesday morning, lingering through Thursday morning. Here are the most recent weather alerts in effect for the KLBK viewing area. Counties shaded in the magenta color are under an Ice Storm Warning from 12 AM Wednesday through 9 AM Thursday. This includes the counties of Dickens, King, Scurry, Borden, Dawson, and Kent. In this area, up to 0.50″ of ice accretion is expected and up to 1″ of a snow/sleet mix is possible. Counties shaded in purple are under a Winter Weather Advisory. This includes the counties of Gaines, Lea, Yoakum, Terry, Lynn, Garza, Crosby, Lubbock, Hockley, Cochran, Lamb, Hale, Floyd, Motley, Cottle, Hall, Briscoe, and Swisher, will remain under this advisory until 9 AM Thursday morning. Here, up to 0.20″ of ice accretion is possible, with eastern areas seeing most, and western areas seeing little to none.
Timing for this event will begin close to midnight tonight. Precipitation will begin to increase from south to north across the South Plains. We will stay mainly in the form of freezing drizzle, freezing rain, and sleet. Though 6 AM CST, it looks like the only areas to see impacts will be along and to the south of the Highway 62/82 corridor.
Between 6 AM through noon, precipitation will begin to creep north. Temperatures will still be below freezing throughout this time frame, resulting in accumulating ice, sleet, and light snow on area roadways. This will create a hazardous commute during the lunch rush hour across the region, especially along and south of the 62/82 corridor.
From Noon through 6 PM Wednesday, a light to moderate mix of wintry precipitation will continue across the region. Areas along and to the south of the 62/82 corridor will continue to see the most significant impacts. Areas north of the 62/82 corridor will warm a degree or two above freezing during this time period, resulting in some minor melting of ice between 1-5 PM. After 5-6 PM, we should fall back below freezing region wide.
From 6 PM through midnight, precipitation will transition back over to a wintry mix around the region. Precipitation rates will remain light, which will keep us from seeing a lot of accumulation around the region. However, we will still see enough to create hazardous travel around the region, making it dangerous to get out on area roadways. Temperatures will remain below freezing for the entire region during this time period. As our system begins to pull out of the area, colder air will filter in behind it. This will result in the transition over to a light snow. Minor accumulations are expected, mainly less than 1″.
From midnight through 6 AM CST Thursday, precipitation will begin to end from west to east. Areas along and to the west of the Interstate 27/Highway 87 corridor will transition over to a light snow, with the rest of the region seeing a wintry mix. Minor snow accumulations up to 1″ will be possible. Travel should only occur if it is absolutely necessary Thursday morning.
From 6 AM through noon Thursday, precipitation will continue to end from west to east, with more sunshine expected during the afternoon. Road conditions will improve after noon CST, but most likely not until then. Thursday afternoon will feature more sunshine with improving conditions. A few slick spots will remain Thursday night through Friday morning, especially over the eastern South Plains.
Overall, our main concern with hazardous travel exists from 12 AM CST Wednesday through 8 AM CST Thursday. Travel during this time frame should only occur if it is absolutely essential. The less people we have on the roadways, the less crashes we’ll have, resulting in a lower risk of loss of life.
Ice accretions will be highest over eastern areas, possible resulting in power outages. Isolated snow on the backside of this event could result in up to 1″ of accumulation for some, but does not look likely as of now.
You can stay up to date with the latest information on Facebook, Twitter, our website at everythinglubbock.com/klbk-weather/, and in the First Warning Weather App.
Stay weather aware, and stay warm, South Plains!
-Jacob.
Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Jacob Riley
Twitter: @jrileywx
