Happy Wednesday, everyone. 2013 is off and running on a cold note across the bluegrass state and that’s a trend that will carry us for a while longer. The stormy pattern we’ve been in will take a bit of a break, but signs of the next wave of storms and cold are showing up down the road.

The numbers are in for 2012 and the history books will never be the same. Louisville and Bowling Green recorded their warmest years on record. Lexington came up a bit short, but managed to make it to the number 2 spot on the warmest years list. What makes all this even more impressive is how cold the fall was. It managed to crank the top ten coldest falls on record for a few cities.

Have I mentioned extreme is the new normal?

Temps won’t be extreme this week, but will continue to run below normal. Highs today will reach the upper 20s to low 30s. A mix of clouds and sun will be noted.

A few weak systems will drop in from the northwest over the next several days. The first arrives later Thursday and Thursday night with a few clouds and possible flurries. That will bring a reinforcing shot of cold air for Friday. The next system moves in by Sunday and may have a touch more moisture with it. A round of snow showers and flurries will be possible.

The pattern will relax some as we go into next week. We may even warm it up for a few days as the pattern reloads for the middle and end of the month. That’s when we are likely to see things turn very wintry around here with cold and snow chances galore.

The models are already going in that direction by the weekend of the 12th as they carve out a deep trough across the central and eastern part of the country…

GFS 2 GFS

Notice the bookend blocks showing up. One up the west coast and the other nudging into Greenland. That may try to become a fairly stable pattern that keeps our region locked into the cold with frequent storm chances as the southern branch of the jet stream fires up.

Have a great Wednesday and take care.