UPDATED!! Cantore in Raleigh. Winter Storm Warnings. This IS Happening. Southern Snow Storm.

Getting closer.

Today has been a crazy day.

I had planned on updating however I had a relative who is okay in the hospital and who was released today so I was a bit distracted. All is good as they say. The shooting at FLL airport near where several of my kids live and use frequently took hours out of my day. Just a person who went "postal" or terrorism? Hard to say but we will know soon enough. What is upsetting and not so surprising is he was not shot or tackled but seems to have given himself up after running out of ammo. So now we know how soft a target FLL really is as well as there maybe changes in security for baggage. Who knows on that one...

As for the Winter Storm warning we had some sleet earlier that turned over to rain and the snow line is close to where I live. Going into Shabbos here so having friends from Canada who live nearby for dinner, they will walk home in snow most likely. 

I went to the convenience store for something special today and teased the owner if he is opening tomorrow. He smiled, looked up at the sky and said "much snow, no guarantee!!" And that seems to be the way it goes here in the Raleigh Triangle. 

I'll be online Saturday at sundown and we will see just how much snow Raleigh actually got, as well as snow reports from other places and my thoughts on the Winter Storm of 2017!

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Compare and contrast with the earlier radar...

The snow is so close as it slides West to East towards Carolina.

Notice how perfectly it blankets Tennessee.

I've always said NC is really Eastern Tennessee.

This is what I woke up to this morning.

Delta, SW, American all fixing travel problems.

Pretty sure that includes other airlines as well.

It seems weather is never political.

The first test of our new governor is WEATHER.

And for a place that gets snow storms and hurricanes its logical.

Happens in January. More inaugural events put on hold.

My first introduction to Governor Perdue was a snow storm.

I will be mostly discussing Raleigh today.

Yes I'm here and it's Ground Zero for this Winter Storm.

Seems Cantore is in town as well...

Oh my...that moment you realize this IS happening.

Yeah this IS happening.

So I am going to go a bit long here in discussion and short on graphics and weather loops. There will be time to update later today with good satellite imagery. Now is the time to get the message across to people who live in parts of the South that are being impacted directly by this winter storm. Note some areas along the Gulf Coast may be dealing with Ice as they are having freezing rain.

Note the warnings down in Louisiana and Mississippi.

http://www.weather.gov/

Check your specific town.

The main problem here is two fold. One is the possibility of HIGH snow totals in areas that are not used to that much snow. Not because people in the South are "dumb" or "ignorant" of how snow works but because we do not have the infrastructure to handle such an event. So how that plays out is the Governors try their best to keep the main highways plowed and then if and when that is under control they move on to the secondary roads and well for people living in suburbia you hopefully have skis or sleds. Because here in Raleigh where we have little cul de sacs and roads with steep inclines it's going to feel more like a village in Switzerland somewhere than the land of magnolias and tupelo honey if you get my snow drift. We don't get deep snow often that accumulates, nor do we get frigid temperatures that keep it on the ground. Normally it snows, it accumulates a little and the next day it melts. This is SNOW plus Single Digit Temperatures.

STAY OFF THE ROADS! And I mean as soon as possible.  I really hope government jobs are letting people go home early because if everyone leaves downtown Raleigh and NC State at the same time at 5 PM and the system comes in earlier than expected you WILL see more of those iconic "OH MY GOD IT SNOWED IN RALEIGH!!!" pictures.

I say this as the huge traffic jam that occurred the last time we thought the snow was coming in after dark it came in earlier and the rain to sleet to snow storm occurred earlier and my friend from New England who figured she was used to snow was not a match for the steep hill near North Hills and spent hours trying to get home with kids in her car. Snow just doesn't translate as well to this neck of the woods. And yet it's beautiful and gets less dirty and yucky as it does up in the Northern cities and our big tall dark green Southern pines show off beautifully against the white, heavy snow.

So if you haven't been to the store you can try and make that run for another loaf of bread but I doubt they have any left. It took me a long time to figure out why people buy milk here for a snow storm. Coming from Miami we don't buy milk for hurricanes so buying milk before a Natural Weather Disaster seems a bit crazy. My Yankee husband explained to me if the power goes out you stick it in the garage or on the deck. Oh..........right... kind of like living in Siberia where they freeze the milk into wheels leaned against the barn. This really is NOT the Deep South. And it's called NORTH Carolina for a reason.

So ....

1. Get home, hunker down and stay off the roads. Do not make one last run for more pizza or Chik-fil-A really. Gather your troops, kids, friends, pets and hunker down. That said this was a great tweet and so true as power could go out you may want to get some books. You remember books right? The kind you turn the pages and read while lying in bed under multiple blankets.

2. As the temperatures are predicted to be down closer to zero than 32 degrees the snow may stay on the ground for a long time. If you live on a cute little road off the main road you may not be driving anywhere anytime soon. You may want to make a run to the library for a book or two.

3. Make sure you have medication for the next week (worst case scenario) and candles used properly if you aren't the romantic type and not sure how to use them. If you are not a smoker make sure you pick up matches. Do not waste your phone battery by using the flashlight app that is what a real flashlight is for (note to me to check my flashlights...) As for medication you may be able to get to the store when it opens but the trucks may not be able to get there as fast if highways are closed in places to restock the pharmacy. 

4. Keep your phones fully charged at all times. Keep them plugged in as much as possible. That goes for your child's iPad or his Doki watch. Snow storms do sometimes have power outages and people who were sure they could make it to the store for something often get into accidents and hit power poles taking out the whole subdivision when the transformer at the end of the block goes down.  See number 1 and stay home and do not be that person.

5. Take some pictures, enjoy the drama and the moment in time when Raleigh had a gigantic snow storm and well you can always blame it on Jim Cantore!

Stay tuned... going out one more time myself while the weather is a nice balmy 39 degrees because it won't be 39 degrees again until Tuesday if the weather models are correct. Models are the date we take to the prom and climo is the pattern that is almost always right but weather like snow falling, fast happens in real time. Only in the rear view mirror are we sure what happened!

As always time will tell... 

I'll update later today with more information so check back later.

Besos BobbiStorm

@bobbistorm on Twitter

Ps... Cantore mentioned something you aren't hearing much about. Along the coast near OBX up to Norfolk they may have blizzard like conditions with high winds.