SAVANNAH, Ga. () — Wintry weather is begging to become a greater risk for the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry next week. Tuesday and Wednesday are Weather Aware Days due to the possibility of snow and ice.

We are watching what will become a system in the northern Gulf of Mexico early next week and will bring with it the risk for winter weather to the southeast. The ingredients that are needed for a meaningful winter weather event in the Southeast are looking more likely to come together – as indicated by the primary global forecast model systems.

Now that we are on the cusp of being within 3-4 days out, we will begin to turn our attention to fine tuning the details on what type of precipitation we may receive locally. Right now, there are strong indications that this may be a snow and freezing rain event. If it become more of a freezing rain situation, this will be a higher impact winter storm than if it were just snow.

Remember, freezing rain is liquid precipitation that freezes on contact. The weight of the ice can be enough to bring down trees and power lines. This event has potential to highly impact travel around the region on the roads and with flights in and out.

We will begin to have a better idea on how much snow or ice there will be, when, and where within the next couple of days. Everyone in the area will not receive the same snow and ice totals. Again, this has potential to be a high impact event for most of us.

Timing as of Friday evening for when wintry precipitation may be an issue is Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning – depending on the temperature. Not only the surface temperature outside your house, but also the how cold or mild the air is aloft in the atmosphere. This will be the ultimate determining factor in what kind of precipitation falls where.

The week ahead will be very cold, regardless of winter precipitation. An arctic airmass will surge southward starting on Monday. Afternoon highs and lows will be almost 20° below normal. Conditions will be breezy and gusty as well – leading to single digit wind chill values. Wind chills this low can lead to hypothermia and frostbite. Extreme cold weather alerts are expected to be issued by the National Weather Service.

This forecast situation continues to evolve for next week. We will have a better idea day-by-day as we get closer. Storm Team 3 will have you covered as conditions change, stay tuned for the latest forecast.

Be sure to have a way to receive critical weather alerts in the event there are any watches or warnings issued for the Coastal Empire or Lowcountry. A great tool for that is the  Weather NOW app. It is free and is available in the Apple App Store or Google Play.