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Region Under Blizzard Watch

National Weather Service

The National Weather Service in Paducah has issued a Blizzard Watch from Christmas evening through Wednesday morning.

The location of the rain snow line will be critical for determining snowfall amounts. Based on the current expected storm track,the rain snow line will extend from around New Madrid Missouri, northeast across Paducah Kentucky to around Evansville Indiana.

Snowfall around one foot is quite possible where the precipitation is all snow.Near the rain snow line, snowfall amounts are much less certain. Winds on Christmas night will increase to around 25 mph with frequent gusts from 35 to 45 mph. These strong winds will persist into Wednesday morning. The heaviest snow and strongest winds are expected to develop between 8 pm and midnight on Christmas night. Conditions will begin to improve between 5 am and 10 am on Wednesday.

Blizzard conditions are possible in the watch area. Expect travel to become very difficult or impossible. Blowing and drifting snow could make roads impassable, whiteout conditions may create a life threatening situation for those venturing outdoors. The heavy wet snow and strong winds may bring down some trees and power lines. In addition, shoveling heavy wet snow has caused heart attacks, back problems and other issues in past winter storms.

Jeff Williams is the Associate Director for Radio and Station Manager for WSIU Radio. Jeff is a native of southern Illinois and has been in broadcasting for 30 years. Contact WSIU Radio at 618-453-6101 or email wsiuradio@wsiu.org
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