Rain Now.....Snow Later

Unlike what many of us thought, in the meteorology world, the precipitation that started late last night, has fallen as all rain this morning as every location in our area has stayed above freezing. That is due in large part to a sustained 10-20 mph southeast wind at the surface. That has continued to pump in not only warmer air but a lot of moisture as well. The HPC (hydrological prediction center) is expecting some areas to receive over an inch of precipitation.However, late tonight is when the "fun" begins because cold air will start to get wrapped into the system which will cool temperatures off enough to get a period of freezing rain (especially across areas of the north) and then snow. Here is a comparison of the 850mb temperatures between this morning and tomorrow morning.

Once the snow starts, there is great speculation on just how much we will get. Forecast models continue to flip flop between a lot of snow and not much accumulation. Here is what one of them is saying at the present time.This model pegs a swath of 2-8" of snow along and west river which would include the Pierre and Mobridge areas. Right now though, despite what this model says, I don't think we will get more the 2-4" in most areas. This is in combination of the warmth of the atmosphere, the amount of rain that we are expecting (this can actually prevent snow from accumulating for a few hours after it stops raining), and the inconsistency in the models.

So I hope you like it wet because the precipitation looks to stick around through tomorrow.

~KDLT Meteorologist Cody Matz