A WINTER STORM WARNING has now been issued for Hamilton County, OH, and points south. 3-5 inch snow amounts will be common with isolated 7 inch amounts. There will be much less snow as you travel north from Cincinnati. Some freezing rain may mix in with light ice accumulations, especially as you go south. This storm has significantly increased over the past 12 hours and is NOT the relatively weak system it looked like it was last evening. A period of heavy snow is forecast to correspond with morning rush hour Thursday which could cause a major impact across the area.
Winter weather advisory for significant snow, heavy snow possible
A winter weather advisory has been issued for the Cincinnati tristate area. The overall storm scenario has not changed in that snow will begin after dark and end Thursday morning. Some freezing rain and sleet may mix in in northern Kentucky, but this will not be enough to cause significant problems except for areas well south of the river.
The big change is that there appears to be more moisture in the system than what was projected last night. An area of heavy snow may develop near rush hour Thursday. General accumulations are now expected to be 2 to 4 inches, but some 5 inch amounts are possible near and just north of the river, including Cincinnati. Given these totals, this storm will likely be similar to Sunday’s in many areas, maybe a little more in areas which did not get hit hard Sunday. If the heavy snow develops near Thursday rush hour, it could lead to considerably more traffic headaches than we saw Monday morning.
Those traveling south should be advised of winter storm warnings from Louisville and Lexington south into Tennessee which could result in major accumulations of snow, sleet, and freezing rain late Wednesday into early Thursday.