Another cold snap coming: Will we see more snow in the Big Country?

BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – After a cold snap that’s kept the Big Country chilly for the past week, temperatures are set to drop again thanks to another blast of arctic air. The first cold snap had us flipping back and forth between snow and no snow, with about an inch accumulating at one point and quickly melting away due to above-freezing temperatures and plenty of sunshine. With this next cold snap on the way, the question of whether we’ll see more snow in the air, so let’s dive into the details.

First, we know temperatures will be extremely cold. Model trends consistently show those colder temperatures moving in by Saturday, January 18, and sticking around for the extended forecast period—possibly even beyond that.

This is all thanks to an arctic front pushing those frigid temperatures southward and bursts of reinforcing cold air. The Climate Prediction Center’s 6-10 day and 8-14 day outlooks both confirm this trend, showing below-average temperatures for the Big Country and much of the U.S. Over the last few days, these outlooks have been consistent, so we’re confident that the cold is on its way. But what about moisture? Will that bring us more snow? Let’s take a look.

While we’ve been expecting this cold weather for a while, moisture hasn’t shown up in the models as strongly as the last cold snap. But as all meteorologists stress, models are constantly changing, especially this far out. Right now, there’s no real agreement between the models, but as we get closer, we’ll start to see more consistency in terms of whether it’ll be wet or dry. Looking at the ensemble runs, we see a snow output for 6 out of 20, which still leaves confidence extremely low.

As of January 14, it looks like the higher chances for snow are concentrated farther north in places like Montana, the High Plains, and the Rockies.

So, there’s no definite answer on whether we’ll see a winter wonderland right now, but we know it will be very cold. As we get closer to the event, we’ll be able to fine-tune the forecast, relying on short-range, high-resolution models to give us a clearer picture of where snow might fall and how much we could get.

Be sure to keep checking in with your local meteorologists for the latest updates!