Lincoln, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – You know it’s serious when a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS) describes the weather Sunday like this.
“Every type of weather you could possibly think of is happening.”
While that’s not completely true, Meteorologist Rebekka Coppel at NWS in Lincoln, during a Saturday afternoon conference call, said severe weather is possible Sunday during the daytime hours, temperatures falling rapidly later, up to two inches of snow in Springfield, some areas maybe getting up to seven inches of snow, and high winds potentially creating blizzard conditions late Sunday night into Monday morning.
“The big show is the afternoon into evening, from 3 p.m. to 9 p. m.,” said Coppel. “We’re going to see the chance for pretty damaging winds, and a tornado or two within the line, maybe more than two.”
And if severe weather transitioning into winter wasn’t enough, as temperatures will drop significantly through the day, “One concern with us changing over to snow behind the (cold) front is the possibility of a flash freeze to happen over the roads,” said Coppel. “It’s looking like we should be able to dry off the roads enough to make the roads not freeze immediately.”
Prior to the weather changing over to winter, Coppel says hail and damaging winds are the prevailing threat, but tornadoes cannot be ruled out. The severe weather could start hitting Central Illinois by 3 p.m. Sunday, and change over to winter weather after dark.
That will present its own problems, as it relates to a blizzard.
“A blizzard does not need falling snow,” said Coppel. “A blizzard is 35-plus-miles-per-hour winds. We’re going to have that. We’re going to have 30 to 45 miles per hour while the snow is falling, and then visibility less than a quarter of a mile. It does not take a lot of falling snow to drop visibility rapidly and dramatically.”
Sunday’s high is forecast to be 64, but drop to a low of 19 by daybreak Monday. Highs Monday and Tuesday will be below freezing, before highs return to the 50’s and 60’s starting Wednesday.
