The Okaloosa County public safety director on Saturday provided an update on the coming freezing weather.
“An arctic air mass will move into the area Sunday night (Jan. 19) through the middle of next week. Lows will drop well into the 20s Monday through Wednesday mornings. Lows in the teens cannot be ruled out well inland. Wind chills will drop into the lower teens and potentially the single digits in some locations,” Pat Maddox wrote in an advisory.
Will it snow? It might.
“The potential for impactful wintry precip accumulations on Tuesday continues to increase,” Maddox wrote. “While it’s too early to determine exact accumulation amounts, the chance for at least 1/2” of snow has increased to 60-70%.
“The primary precip type is expected to be snow, but areas along the coast may see more of a wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet, and snow as the event tapers off,” he continued. “Important note: Temperatures will be cold leading up to the wintry precip, and it may not take as much accumulation for impacts to occur.”
Maddox expressed “medium confidence” on winter weather occurring and low confidence on exact amounts.
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The National Weather Service has Okaloosa County under an extreme cold watch from 9 p.m. Sunday through 9 a.m. Monday.
“Dangerously cold wind chills as low as 8 above are possible,” the weather service says.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Snow in Okaloosa County? Maybe. Here comes the Arctic blast