Independent Herald

01/28/2025

HEAT WAVE! We hit 50° at the airport today, marking just the second time this month that temps have been 50° or warmer. But there are lots of 50° days ahead...in fact, we'll likely close out the month of January with four straight 50° days, and then we may see some 60° days in early February!

Next week will easily be the warmest week we've seen this winter. It looks like we'll get close to 60° on Sunday, with sunny skies ... a beautiful day. How the pattern evolves from there remains questionable, as there are some pretty major differences between the two most reliable global models, the domestic GFS and the European global. The American model shows the warmest temps struggling to get this far north for much of the week, but still has us in the 50s each day. However, if the Euro is correct, we'll be in the 60s most days next week and could even push 70° later in the week before a storm system moves through!

As always in February and March, when we experience very warm temperatures the potential for severe weather will have to be watched. There's a storm system that will impact the region late next week or next weekend, though it's too soon to say whether severe weather will be a threat. A cooldown will likely follow the storm, but we won't see temperatures anything like what we've experienced through much of January.

☀️😎☀️

01/28/2025

TUESDAY WEATHER: ☀️ A couple of really nice days are on tap before a storm system moves in later this week. Check out Sunday's weather!

ALMANAC: Sunrise/Sunset: 7:40/6:01 • Records: 70° (1999), -12° (1963) • Year-To-Date Rainfall: 2.5" (Normal: 4.7").

DETAILS: Sunny skies today, and we'll get close to 50°. With a southwest wind blowing, we probably won't get below freezing tonight — quite a change from this time last week! Tomorrow we'll push into the low to mid 50s with sunny weather continuing. Thursday may be in the mid 50s, but we'll have a chance of rain in the afternoon.

NEXT STORM SYSTEM: Rain will become likely Thursday night and continue through Friday. The bulk of the rain will probably be late Thursday night or early Friday morning. Where the bulk of the rain occurs will depend on the track of the storm system. For now, it appears that it will be to our west. In fact, rain totals look rather meager on the European global model — maybe half an inch or so.

WEEKEND: Temperatures will continue to be rather mild on the back side of the storm system. Rain chances will clear out on Saturday with a high in the low 50s and then, get this: Sunday's forecast is for sunny skies and 60°!

FURTHER OUT: We will probably see a cooldown early next week, but next week's temperatures won't be bad for this time of year. Then we'll likely begin to warm up again as we head towards the following weekend. The first half of February looks pretty mild overall. Teleconnections do not favor cold weather for the next couple of weeks.

01/27/2025

Photo by Nichole Newport: You've probably seen a lot of photos from this month's winter weather and cold temperatures, but you haven't seen anything like this! This is Bandy Creek Falls in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, frozen completely over. Nichole took this photo Saturday after hiking to the off-trail waterfall. Simply spectacular!

01/27/2025

For the first time in 39 days, students in Scott Co. were in school and on time today!

(Parents are rejoicing 😅)

01/27/2025

MONDAY WEATHER: ☀️ There's a very slight chance of light precipitation to start the day, then we'll gradually see sunny skies as the day progresses.

NEXT 5 DAYS (M-F): ☀️☀️☀️☀️🌧️ TEMPERATURE TRENDS: 40s early this week, 50s later this week, 60s next week.

ALMANAC: Sunrise/Sunset: 7:48/5:39 • Records: 70° (1962), -4° (1966) • Year-To-Date Rainfall: 2.3" (Normal: 4.5").

DETAILS: A weak disturbance sliding by to our south was expected to bring some light rain and snow to the region during the pre-dawn hours, but today will gradually see sunny skies with a high of about 43°. We'll continue to see dry and sunny days for the next several days, pushing to near 50° tomorrow and then getting into the mid 50s on Wednesday.

NEXT CHANCE OF RAIN: The next storm system to impact our area will be Thursday night into Friday. This storm could be a pretty substantial rainmaker for parts of the South, but totals in each locale will depend on the track of the storm. For now, it looks like the heaviest totals will likely be to our west. But that could change. We'll have a better idea of potential rainfall amounts over the next couple of days.

WEEKEND: Rain chances may linger into Saturday. But Sunday looks really nice — sunny skies with temperatures in the mid 50s.

FURTHER OUT: Next week looks really nice, as far as temperatures go. We may be in the 60s Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. There are some indications that we could even make a push towards 70°, but it's too far out to start pinning down specifics. One thing to keep in mind: when temperatures get very warm this time of year, severe weather often lurks. Keep an eye on the Feb. 7-8 timeframe for a potential strong storm system that could bring a severe weather threat to the region. There's a pretty good chance that we'll cool down behind that storm system, but a return of significant winter weather continues to look very unlikely for at least the first half of February.

01/27/2025

WEATHER UPDATE: A weak system will bring some rain showers and, perhaps, snow showers to the northern Cumberland Plateau region later tonight. The National Weather Service is forecasting a 60% chance of rain and snow showers overnight in the Oneida area, with a low of 30°.

This will be a very minimal event, though some isolated slick spots cannot be completely ruled out. Even with the milder temperatures over the weekend, ground temperatures are relatively cold, which could aid some very minor accumulations if a changeover from rain to snow does occur.

However, that changeover is uncertain. Just before 9 p.m., our temperature is still around 40° in Oneida. It will be slow to drop overnight, and may not get to the freezing mark until near daybreak tomorrow — if then. Snow, and even accumulation, can occur with above-freezing temperatures...but temperatures aloft are also marginal, and that's what will determine whether we see a rain-to-snow transition overnight or just rain. Our best chance for precipitation should be between midnight and 5 a.m., which means temperatures will be even more marginal (temperatures should become more supportive of snow towards dawn, as the best precipitation chances are exiting our area).

Throw in the fact that precipitation should be very light whether it's rain or snow (a tenth of an inch or less of liquid-form precipitation seems likely), and meaningful snow accumulation is unlikely. If snow falls, accumulation should be limited mostly to grassy surfaces, though some isolated slick spots and some slick bridges and overpasses cannot be completely ruled out at this time. Be weather-aware as you head out the door tomorrow morning, just in case!

01/27/2025

This week's issue of VARSITY: The Sports Magazine of the Independent Herald is now available. This week's Lumber King Sports Front features Larissa Jones and the Oneida Lady Indians after their back-to-back wins Friday and Saturday. You can view it directly here:

https://indd.adobe.com/view/214a1866-bd91-4183-9db5-c2637e6b2dd3

Our e-edition archive is always available at indherald.com/e-edition, where you can sign up to receive a copy in your email inbox (for free) each week.

01/26/2025

The game was played almost dead even across the final three quarters, but Eagleton was efficient on offense and did not give Oneida an opportunity to overcome a slow start in the first quarter.

READ: https://www.indherald.com/2025/01/26/oneida-falls-to-eagleton-in-saturday-night-road-game/

01/26/2025

Back-to-back wins for the Oneida Lady Indians, and this one was in dominant fashion on the road Saturday evening.

READ: https://www.indherald.com/2025/01/26/lady-indians-pick-up-district-win-in-dominating-fashion/

01/26/2025

YESTERDAY'S SCORES AT THE AREA 7-A TOURNAMENT:

#1 Oneida girls 44, #4 Burchfield 10
#2 Huntsville girls 38, #3 Jellico 8
#1 Oneida boys 49, #5 Huntsville 21
#2 Jellico 56, #3 Robbins 36

MONDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES AT JELLICO:

#1 Oneida girls vs. #2 Huntsville, 7 p.m.
#1 Oneida boys vs. #2 Jellico, 8:15 p.m.

01/26/2025

Down eight in the third, Scott High again came back, this time completing a season sweep of Clinton and moving to within one win of the program's first regular season district championship in almost 30 years.

Down eight points in the third quarter, Scott High again came back to complete a season sweep of Clinton and move within one win of securing a regular season district championship.

01/26/2025

The Lady Indians jumped to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and did not give Oliver Springs a chance to get back into it, on a very big night by Larissa Jones.

Oneida jumped to a double-digit lead in the first quarter and never allowed Oliver Springs a chance to get back in it, on a big night for Larissa Jones.

01/26/2025

Scott High led most of the first half, and won the fourth quarter, but Clinton used a big surge in the third quarter to leave Highlander Gymnasium with a district win Friday night.

Scott led for much of the first half and won the fourth quarter, but was unable to come a big Clinton surge in the third quarter that ultimately lifted the Dragons to a district win.

01/26/2025

It was a nine-point deficit at halftime, but Oneida completely flipped things in the second half, outscoring Oliver Springs by 22 points to build a 13-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

Down nine points at halftime, Oneida completely turned it around in the first half, outscoring Oliver Springs by 22 points to build a double-digit lead late in the fourth.

01/24/2025

WINTER HIKING CHALLENGE UPDATE:

If you're participating in the and you're eagerly awaiting for Hike #3 to drop — we're going to delay it for a week, due to the extremely cold temperatures and snow that kept many folks off the trails last weekend. (Okay, truthfully it's because illness kept us off the trails this week...but the extra week will allow folks who might not have hiked one of or either of the first two trails to get out and enjoy the beautiful mild weather that we're expecting this weekend as they catch up!)

Look for Hike #3 to drop early next week. Catch up on the first two hikes here: https://www.indherald.com/2024/12/22/winter-hiking-challenge-begins-with-post-christmas-hike/

01/24/2025

Thursday's winners at the Area 7-A middle school tournament.

#1 Oneida girls over #8 Fairview
#3 Jellico girls over #6 Elk Valley
#2 Huntsville girls over #7 Robbins
#1 Oneida boys over #8 Winfield
#2 Jellico boys over #7 White Oak

Saturday's games, at Jellico High School:
#3 Jellico girls vs. #2 Huntsville, 2 p.m.
#3 Robbins boys vs. #2 Jellico, 3:15 p.m.
#4 Burchfield girls vs. #1 Oneida, 4:30 p.m.
#5 Huntsville boys vs. #1 Oneida, 5:45 p.m.

01/24/2025

FRIDAY WEATHER: ⛅️ It's going to be a bit colder than yesterday, as we hang out just below freezing with a chance of snow flurries early.

ALMANAC: Sunrise/Sunset: 7:43/5:57 • Records: 73° (1999), -22° (1963) • Year-To-Date Rainfall: 2.3" (Normal: 4.0").

DETAILS: We'll top out at around 31° today with mostly cloudy skies and a chance of snow flurries. Tonight will see us drop into the mid-teens, and that'll be the end of the below-normal temperatures for a while. We'll be near normal the next several days, with highs in the 40s and nighttime lows in the upper 20s. Then we may push into the 50s on Tuesday and Wednesday, ahead of the next storm system.

NEXT RAIN CHANCE: A couple of weak disturbances will slide south of us over the next week. The first one, Sunday night into Monday, could give us some light showers, but chances are pretty slim. The next one, Wednesday and Thursday, may also prove to be too far south to impact us. Finally, a more developed storm system will impact the region next weekend, and with any luck we'll get a little rain out of that one.

FURTHER OUT: Wetter-than-normal weather looks likely during the first week of February, with several storm systems that could impact our area and dump several inches of rain. It's still too far out to know exactly how it's all going to set up, but some areas of the Southeast will likely see a whole lot of rain from this setup — whether it's in Tennessee or further south.

NO RETURN OF COLD AIR? Teleconnections continue to favor much milder temperatures than what we've seen for much of January. It seems likely that we'll see highs primarily in the 40s and 50s through at least the first half of February. La Nina winters are often mild and wet in our area during the month of February, and that looks like it might be the case this year, too.

01/24/2025

Another double-header on the IH Sports Network tomorrow...but let's be honest: You don't need to be watching us. You need to be there. Oneida hosts Oliver Springs, an old rival from its Class 1A days in what should be an exciting game. And Scott High hosts district rival Clinton. On the girls' side, this is a showdown between the top two teams in the District 4-3A standings, and the winner of this game could win a regular season district championship.