Winter storm expected to drop rain, sleet, snow on Tennessee

West Tennessee will be getting a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and the chance of some snow early Thursday morning, according to an advisory from the National Weather Service in Memphis.

The Middle Tennessee area should expect precipitation around 8 or 9 a.m., said Mike Girodo, an NWS meteorologist in Nashville.

“It will start off with light sleet and snow, then move into rain for the rest of the day,” he said.

Northern Middle Tennessee cities like Clarksville and Portland will have the best chance of snow.

“Because of the cold weather lately, we’re going to have ground that is conducive to accumulation,” Girodo said, adding that there is a chance of a second dusting of snow Thursday night.

In East Tennessee, the NWS in Morristown issued a winter storm watch to start Thursday morning through Friday morning.

Meteorologist Doug Schneider said that the storm will roll in with freezing rain in northeastern areas, like the Tri-Cities. The daytime temperatures will keep the precipitation to just rain during the day.

The storm will have changed to mostly snow by Thursday night and accumulations may total from 2 to 4 inches, Schneider said.

Schneider recommended that residents in East Tennessee prepare during the day on Thursday.

“The roads could be pretty treacherous,” he said, with little melting expected Friday morning.