The evening soundings from Jackson, MS, and Calera, AL, have some characteristics that support snow. From 5,000 feet up, the temperature is below freezing. At Calera, there is a warm layer with temperatures above freezing from the surface up to about 4,000 feet. At Jackson, the sounding shows that warm layer to be about half that thick. So things are looking good.
And in the warm layers at both locations, the separation between the temperature and the dew point is enough to allow for some evaporative cooling. This should help to cool the warm layers down close to freezing to prevent the layer nearest the ground to cause enough melting to change the snow over to rain.
Even though radar echoes get to your location, there is probably just enough drier air up to about 7,500 feet to evaporate the initial precipitation. But it should not take very long for that drier air to moisten up and precipitation begin to show up at the surface.
2009 has been quite a year in many ways. And this weather situation certainly just adds to it.
-Brian-
