NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Keep the ice scraper handy and a weather eye peeled. Another La Nina winter is expected in Tennessee.
The National Weather Service outlook for December through February calls for slightly warmer than normal temperatures, but wetter than usual conditions.
Nashville forecaster Bobby Boyd says that may mean more ice than usual.
"We may be looking at some icy conditions, perhaps a freezing rain or two. That doesn't mean we won't have some snow. I'm sure we will. But I think we're going to be a little closer to more icy conditions at times."
The best chance for greater than usual precipitation are from Reelfoot Lake to the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau and generally north of Interstate 40.
The spoiler could be what forecasters call Arctic oscillation — a shifting pressure difference that can spill polar air into Tennessee. The phenomenon is predictable only a couple of weeks in advance.