Winter Storm Jonas Arrives Fashionably Late

Temperatures in recent weeks left many wondering if East Tennessee had skipped a season and gone straight from fall to spring. But, as last week’s frigid cold snap and snowy weather descended on the area, it was clear that Old Man Winter has truly arrived. While the eastern half of the nation prepared for the second snow event inside of a week, East Tennesseans kept turned to the local forecast. On Friday evening, it appeared that Winter Storm Jonas had sidestepped Jefferson, Sevier, Cocke and Hamblen counties. But by Saturday morning it became apparent that a handful of East Tennessee counties were just a little late to the party. Locally, snowfall amounts ranged from the mild (2 inches) to the moderate (5 plus inches) and were more than enough to buy local school children another day off on Monday. In true East Tennessee fashion, temperatures are expected to rise rapidly for the up coming weekend and the National Weather Predication Office expects the region to have a normal February. But, as those that are native to the mountains and valleys know, unusual is the usual in East Tennessee. For those snow haters that are looking for an early spring, beware what you wish for because the most recent predictions find the entire eastern half of the United States having a hotter than normal finish to 2016, meaning the dog days of summer may be upon the area sooner than we expect.