Good evening everyone and Happy Thursday! Attached is the FINAL Prediction for Friday, January 31, 2025.
There have been a few changes to the forecast: while the Winter Weather Advisory (as of this writing) still indicates up to 0.10 inches of ice is expected, the latest National Weather Service forecast suggests only up to 0.04 inches of ice is anticipated, with most locations receiving less. Model guidance has aligned with this idea, suggesting that most of the rain will arrive after temperatures rise above freezing after sunrise, but there could be some passing freezing rain showers beforehand.
Frankly, I was planning on updating the prediction to favor Closings or Regular Days, but with this new data it’s hard for me to see a strong justification for either. Closings/Virtual days are still possible, as there is a tendancy for forecasts and models to warm up air temperatures too quickly (which would mean more freezing rain). On the other hand, this can very easily be a situation where not much freezing rain occurs at all and schools could go in on time as a result. Considering all this, I am taking a middle of the road approach and going with Delays as the most likely outcome, with the idea being Delays could strike a balance between acknowleding the presence of freezing rain while not necessarily closing schools over a (relatively) small amount. I will caution though: confidence is low and I would fully anticipate any outcome tomorrow.
Keep an eye out for alerts this evening and even into tomorrow morning. Be safe everyone and thank you for the support!