Old Man Winter wakes up!

After nearly a month, in January, of chilly somnolence; contenting himself with an occasional cold wave or two, Old man Winter is back!

According to the National weather Service, the first week of February 2014 will be active! Now, when the NWS uses that particular word - ACTIVE, they ain't just playing around! As one weather forecaster put it, 'plan for the best, but expect the worst' when it comes to what might get thrown at the southwest Missouri corridor over the next few days!

Early on the morning of February the 1^st, it now looks like as many as four significant storms... make that winter storms - could impact the Branson-Forsyth area situated in Taney County Missouri. All of these frontal systems will likely include moisture in one of its many varied forms often seen in the winter time; mist, sleet, snow and ice are all in the forecast mix! And, right on cue, Saturday morning saw a light drizzle falling under overcast skies with temperatures in the mid forties. This warm scenario will likely last through the day before the cold front drops on down and changes the mist into some form of sleet later in the evening hours.

So, what's the most likely point at which; A) you'll want to get your grocery shopping done and B) the going gets a bit tough on the highways and byways? Two very good questions.

The first question is really more of a timing issue. The below freezing boundary on Monday morning was draped along the I-44 corridor and is not expected to drop down until the afternoon hours. At the same time a low pressure center will transit diagonally across the area (southwest to northeast) and winds will then begin to pick up from the north. This will set the stage for rapidly cooling temperatures that could result in some light sleet or freezing rain later into the afternoon and early evening. So be careful later today. That said, I don't see any real accumulation and the main roads should be OK. Then, on Sunday, I think our area and locations close to the Arkansas border will see up to an inch of snow from a system that will pass us to the south. This could occur in the afternoon hours on into evening. Based on that assumption, I'd get my vittles in no later than early Saturday afternoon which is today!

I think that the second question, about when it will get really nasty, will wait until sometime Monday night when 'all hell' will likely break lose (my opinion)! The mega weather computers are all coming into agreement that many of the factors needed to make travel next to impossible will slam into our area late Monday into Tuesday morning! So, any last minute procrastinators will need to hit the store for groceries on Monday morning latest! Then, my advice will be to hunker on down....

For an up to date look at the current weather, visit my site at www.taneyservices.com!

Disclaimer: The author of this post is a weather watcher, not a weather professional. The contents of this post constitute his opinions and may or may not be accurate.