Winter Storm Watch: When will Friday’s snow storm hit Butler, Warren counties?

Southwest Ohio is gearing up for another winter storm. Unlike earlier this week, this storm will transition from rain to snow Friday as temperatures fall.

The National Weather Service in Wilmington has issued a winter storm watch for southern Miami Valley, including Butler and Warren counties.

>> WHIO Doppler 7 Interactive Radar

Rain will be falling early Friday morning, but cold air will likely "undercut" the warm air during the day, causing precipitation to change from rain to freezing rain and sleet. There is a concern that this type of set-up may increase the threat for prolonged icing.

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On the positive side, warmer ground leading up to this event may delay the onset of this transition. The negative is once we get closer to sunset and temperatures continue to drop, that icing may become much more of an issue.

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Here is my other concern — even though snowfall amounts seem to be dropping on the latest models, even a few inches of wet snow onto tree limbs and/or power lines coated in ice could become another issue all together. Plus, ice underneath snow creates a unique challenge to road treatment.

Also, there are still a few high-resolution models that are sticking with the higher snowfall amounts (4+ inches), so I still don't think we can rule out higher amounts.

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But for now — I am thinking 2-4 inches is most likely, but that is on top of some ice. Combine that with gusty winds developing Friday night into Saturday and the impact of this storm will be just the same as a bigger snow event.

Bottom line - be ready for a typical Ohio winter storm.

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