Good Thursday, my fellow weather weenies. We have bitterly cold air and snow showers headlining this 4th day of the year, with even colder weather for the next few days. This bitter period will be followed up by a very messy system moving in for late Sunday and Monday.

Let’s start with a breakdown of what to expect from today through Saturday:

  • Snow showers and flurries will continue across parts of central and eastern Kentucky. Light accumulations will be possible, leading to a few travel troubles.
  • Temps today will generally range from the mid teens in the north to the low 20s south. Wind chills will make it feel close to zero at times.
  • Brutally cold temps show up for Friday and Saturday mornings. Lows range from -5 to +5 with wind chills dropping into the -5 to -15 range. Those numbers are into the danger category.
  • Highs Friday and Saturday are mainly in the teens.

This historic run of bitter cold has left our ground frozen solid and that’s a major player for the Sunday/Monday system moving in here. The models continue to trend a little colder with air temps, and I still think that trend continues as they sense the low-level arctic air in place.

Still, the current setup takes temps to freezing or above, leading to a nasty mix of precipitation. The European Model…

The Canadian Model…

The individual members of the GFS Ensembles are showing the winter weather potential…

Again, the exact evolution of this system remains to be seen, but we are likely to have, potentially significant, travel issues developing. That frozen ground means we could ice things up pretty good, even if temps go above freezing. I’ve seen situations like this cause all kinds of problems in the past.

After that system rolls through, temps take a big tumble, but another system is likely to move in here a few days later, bringing another winter weather threat…

For model watchers, the setup for later next week is not a good one for the models. They are going to struggle with systems ejecting from the west.

Overall, the extreme cold is going to relax, leading to much better storm threats for our region.

Let’s get back to tracking the snow showers out there today…

 

Hamburg Area from WKYT Studio
Lexington

Fifth Third Pavilion Live Cam
Downtown Lexington

I-275 approaching KY 20/Airport
Near Covington
I-275 East of KY 20/Airport Exit

I-71/I-75 at Buttermilk Pike
Near Covington
I-71/I-75 @ Buttermilk Pike

I-71/I-75 at 12th St.
Covington
I-71/I-75 @ 12th St. in Covington

US 60 @ US 127
Frankfort
US60 @ US127

Downtown Louisville @ 2nd & Broadway
Louisville
Downtown Louisville @ 2nd & Broadway

I-64 at KY-801
Near Morehead

Maysville

Jenkins

Bardstown

I will have updates later today, so check back. Make it a good one and take care.