textproduct: Morristown

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 130 PM EST Fri Feb 20 2026

-Rollercoaster temperatures, with warm conditions through Saturday, cold Sunday and Monday, and then likely mild again for mid week.

-Quick shot of light snow Sunday morning, then a break Sunday afternoon. Then northwest flow snowfall Sunday night into Monday. Light snowfall accumulations possible in the higher elevations of the East Tennessee mountains and southwest Virginia, with potential for low elevation flurries.

-Gusty winds Sunday through Monday for all locations. Gusts to 40 mph in the mountains and 20 to 30 mph in the valley.

-Wind Chills in the single digits to below zero are expected Sunday through Monday across the higher elevations of the southwest VA, East TN, and southwest NC mountains.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 130 PM EST Fri Feb 20 2026

Additional showers spread into the area overnight from south to north. A few rumbles of thunder are possible due to some very minor amounts of elevated instability. No impacts expected. We see a brief break in the rain Saturday afternoon before additional precip moves back in Saturday night into Sunday. Rain changes to snow late Saturday night into Sunday morning before precip exits east by late Sunday morning. The mountains of southwest VA, northeast TN, and the east TN mountains may see some light snow accumulations, generally less than 0.5 inches. 1 to 3 inches are possible across our highest elevations, above 5000 to 6000 feet. The lower elevations of southwest VA and northeast TN will see some snow flying around as well but little to no accumulation is expected. Minor travel impacts possible across the aforementioned higher elevations Sunday morning.

We see a break in the precip Sunday afternoon before additional moisture wraps into the area around the backside of an east coast system. This is when northwest flow becomes firmly established across the area. Sunday night through Monday expect additional light snowfall accumulations across the same mountainous locations as previously mentioned. During this timeframe, an additional 1 to 2 inches of snowfall is possible, with isolated higher amounts across the highest elevations. Some lower elevation locations across southwest VA and northeast TN may see a dusting to a few tenths of an inch. NBM POPs and QPF during this timeframe were/are way too low for this type of event. Minor travel impacts expected during this timeframe across the higher elevations.

Additionally, gusty winds will also be in place Sunday through Monday for all locations. Roughly 30kts of 850mb flow out of the northwest will translate to wind gusts to around 40 mph across the higher elevations. Good mixing at the surface, as indicated by the inverted v soundings, mean valley locations will see gusty winds as well, generally between 20 to 30 mph.

Because of the colder air moving in, and gusty winds, Wind Chills in the single digits to below zero are expected Sunday through Monday across the higher elevations of the southwest VA, East TN, and southwest NC mountains.

We dry out on Tuesday and milder temperatures return. The warming trend continues thereafter but so do increasing chances of rain and storms from Wednesday and beyond. The best chances for widespread rainfall look to occur between Thursday and Thursday night, where another 0.75 to 1.5 inches of rainfall is possible across our area.

AVIATION

(06Z TAFS) Issued at 1150 PM EST Fri Feb 20 2026

Some light rain to start mainly CHA and TYS, and conditions may at least briefly drop to MVFR at CHA early in the period. Late in the period will see additional showers moving in, and a better chance of MVFR conditions all sites. Winds will generally be light, but will increase from the north late in the period to around 10 kts at CHA and TYS.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Chattanooga Airport, TN 71 48 66 34 / 10 70 20 30 Knoxville McGhee Tyson Airport, TN 69 46 61 35 / 10 50 20 40 Oak Ridge, TN 70 45 62 34 / 0 40 20 40 Tri Cities Airport, TN 68 42 58 34 / 30 30 20 60

MRX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

NC...NONE. TN...NONE. VA...NONE.