Twin States Weather Blog

4:00 AM update

* First off I'd like to thank Josh for letting me try his famous Frank Ricard Chili recipe after the 10:00pm show. Great stuff!

* For those of you who are unaware, I live in Columbus and am finishing up my Masters degree at Mississippi State during the week, then head down to Meridian on the weekends. I headed back home later than normal after spending a few hours diving into Josh's chili. As we have mentioned, the main threat for freezing rain is north of highway 16. As I headed into Scooba along highway 45 going north, the car temperature read 32 degrees for a while before dropping to 31 around Macon. In this stretch I hit a band of moderate rain. Moderate rain with freezing temperatures is definitely a heart sinker. I drove slowly the rest of the way home and thankfully the ground was warm enough that the roads didn't freeze over. I had a safe trip back but noticed many signs and my car was frozen over when I made it home.

* The key is to know that when rain is falling with these cold temperatures, the threat is at least there for some icy conditions. Often times we refer to this as "black ice" because it looks like the color of the asphalt and is hard to distinguish. Having grown up in Nebraska where ice is common, I've experienced black ice on a few occasions -- a bit surprising and nerve racking. I was shocked and disappointed in the speeds most travelers were driving. Please slow down when you know there is the threat that there could be slick spots. A few extra minutes is worth being safe. My hour and a half drive took two hours tonight, but I am glad to be sitting in my warm apartment writing this blog at 4:00am!!

* We'll continue to watch things closely and pass along any information we receive. Time for a cat nap for me before class at 8:00am! Have a good Monday and be safe!

posted by Renny Vandewege @ 4:10 AM