Significant ice accumulation emerges as serious weekend threat in Nashville
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So much for a winter wonderland.
Nashville is still expected to get walloped by the major winter storm sweeping across the country this weekend, but the latest forecasts show snow could get upstaged by freezing rain and significant ice accumulation.
Why it matters: Ice could lead to downed trees, power outages and especially treacherous driving conditions.
State of play: The National Weather Service expects a wintry mix to move into the region overnight Friday and into Saturday morning. Warmer air during the day on Saturday boosts the risk that snow will shift into sleet and freezing rain.
- "It will not take long for travel conditions to become hazardous," the weather service warns.
Flashback: Earlier this week, forecasters said there was a 55% chance that Nashville could see more than 6 inches of snow. By Thursday, those odds had slipped to 21%.
Zoom in: However, Nashville's odds of seeing at least a quarter of an inch of ice over the weekend sat at 69%.
- Any precipitation could remain dangerous for several days, with Nashville expected to remain at or below freezing into next week.
Reality check: The forecast will continue to evolve as the winter storm system moves closer, and expectations could shift again. Keep tabs on the latest NWS guidance for the most reliable information.
What they're saying: "It is a complicated, tricky forecast, so we're really trying to refine it the best we can," NWS director Ken Graham tells Axios.
- "Little wiggles matter, so 1 or 2 degrees in either direction could be rain or freezing rain or snow."
The bottom line: "Whether it's snow, sleet, or freezing rain, travel conditions will be hazardous across the area," the NWS forecast for Nashville reads.