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Winter Storm Izzy Expected to Greatly Impact the High Country This Weekend; National Weather Service Predicting 5-12 Inches of Snow Saturday Night Through Monday Morning

It’s all snow for the next few days in the High Country. Photo by Randy Johnson

By Nathan Ham

It might have taken a little while for winter to show up in the High Country after an unseasonably warm December, but another round of snow is heading towards the area with what is anticipated to be the biggest snowfall of the season. 

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch from late Saturday night through Monday morning as Winter Storm Izzy barrels its way east. The NWS is expecting snow to fall, heavy at times throughout the day Sunday and Sunday night before coming to an end Monday morning. The NWS forecast is predicting 5-12 inches of snow for almost all parts of the High Country with higher totals at higher elevations such as Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain. 

Right now, the storm system is centered over Iowa and Minnesota and will continue to head southeast. On Saturday, the storm will be crossing Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky before arriving in Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina in the overnight hours Saturday heading into Sunday. 

According to the latest forecast from Ray’s Weather Center, he is expecting snow totals to range from 8-13 inches with higher totals along the Blue Ridge. Ray’s Weather will be releasing a more detailed snowfall map later today or this evening. 

With winter weather heading this way, snow and ice could lead to power outages. Blue Ridge Energy would like to remind their customers that they can sign up for their outage texting service to simply send a text message to report a power outage. 

The simple three-step process begins by making sure that your mobile phone number is listed on your Blue Ridge Energy electric account. You can do this any time by logging into your account online at BlueRidgeEnergy.com or by calling 1-800-451-5474 during normal business hours. The second step is to text START to 70216. This activates your outage texting account. If you lose power, simply text OUT to 70216. That will alert Blue Ridge Energy that you are currently out of power. In addition to Outage Texting, you can also use the Blue Ridge Energy mobile app or call 1-800-448-2383 to report outages.

Photos courtesy | NWS Blacksburg