Residents across southwest North Carolina and east Tennessee woke up to a thick blanket of fog this morning. The National Weather Service in Morristown issued a Dense Fog Advisory in effect until 8 AM EST, cautioning about visibility dropping to a quarter to one half of a mile. The advisory covered several areas, including Knoxville and its surrounding regions, impacting early morning commuters. “Visibility of one quarter to one half of a mile in dense fog,” warned the NWS in a statement that suggests drivers take extra precautions on the road by slowing down, using headlights, and maintaining a safe following distance.
The fog comes ahead of a cold front sweeping through the region early today. According to the National Weather Service’s forecast, patchy dense fog is expected before 7am. Temperatures are set to rise to near 59 by 11am before dropping to around 48 throughout the rest of the day. The winds, traveling west at 5 to 15 mph, could hit gusts of up to 25 mph. Adding to the mix, a 40% chance of rain showers is anticipated before 1am, moving into a chance of snow showers overnight.
The winter weather is not stopping there. The NWS’s Hazardous Weather Outlook has highlighted continuing northwest flow snow showers expected to persist through Monday and into Tuesday morning. “Expect to see accumulating snowfall this evening and overnight for elevations above roughly 2,000 feet,” read the outlook’s statement. Communities situated at higher elevations brace for substantial snowfall, with the Smokies anticipating up to 11 inches at elevations above 5,000 feet, and 1-4 inches in other mountainous areas and higher terrain of southwest Virginia. NWS Morristown also predicts that the wind chills could drop around or slightly below zero in the mountains due to the breezy winds accompanying the cold temperatures tonight through Monday night…