Good Thursday and Happy New Year! We’re closing out 2015 with colder air rolling into the bluegrass state. This is part of the program that features seasonal cold shots coming our way into the start of the new year. It’s the second week of the year that continues to look like a period that grows much colder, with the potential for winter flexing some muscle.
Our short term forecast features a fair amount of clouds out there today. Low level moisture could lead to some areas of drizzle and flurries at times. Highs will be in the 30s for many, but some low 40s will show up in the southeastern part of the region.
Seasonal 30s will be around for New Year’s Day as the clouds try to break.
The weekend is breezy with temps in the upper 30s to low 40s as we await the arrival of another cold front. That front is really amped up on the latest European Model. Check out the 850mb numbers…
That’s some very cold stuff from our region into the northeast. It’s also coming across the super warm waters of the Great Lakes. If that setup does indeed happen.. snow showers and squalls would reach all the way into the Tennessee Valley Monday and Tuesday…
From there, the cold eases into the middle and end of next week. That’s when we start to focus on the southern branch of the jet stream coming back to life, just as much colder air tries to take over the country…
Those are way below normal temps showing up as we head into the second week of the month. Will we get a significant winter threat to usher in that brand of cold? That’s certainly a possibility, and one I’m now watching closely.
I will try to update all this later today. Enjoy the final day of the year and take care.
Feeling excited ❄️
I was looking back on my calendar from last year at this time, and saw that for our area school we had missed two days the first week of January and then we miss the next two weeks of school because of weather … Hummm!!! I don’t think it will happen quite that way this year, but the season is moving in. Feeling excited!!!
My January prediction is picking up on an active southern jet along with an impressive MJO signal by the middle of the month. By this time, it will be fun to watch how close the polar jet and southern jet will come to each other or perhaps merge with a possible blockbuster winter storm or two affecting the country’s midsection and eventually the east coast.
We just don’t want the cold air or polar jet to be to strong. That will probably push the southern jet to far south and leave us cold and dry and that would be all kinds of wasteful.
What an unbelievable year it has been. From historic snow storms (measured in feet), to record shattering cold, too many devastating flash flood events to count including the heartbreaking one in July. Historic wet year, to record warm December, and now the latest first measurable snowfall.. Surely 2016 will pale in comparison, right?
In my 11 years in KY we have many winters where the first measurable snow would not have following until late Jan or perhaps Feb. Well, I am talking Richmond anyway… Others’ experience may be different.
What do the records show about the latest measurable snow fall? I haven’t looked it up myself…
Not sure about Richmond, but here in Jacksons coverage area the previous record was Dec. 29th I believe. I saw the graphic on their website this morning..
I’m ready to finally track some winter weather! It’s been so long!
A very quiet 2015 tornado season for the country as a whole. Until the last week and a half of December, only a few EF0s and EF1s in Kentucky and Tennessee. Just ten deaths nationwide, much below average.
Unfortunately, the days just before and after Christmas raised the nationwide toll from ten to 34 (even if still below average) – including two fatalities in Perry County TN. 🙁
2015 marks three relatively quiet tornado season in a row (following the horrific years of 2011 and 2012). Although the relatively calm times will have to end sooner or later, let’s hope 2016 can be at least one more slow tornado year.
Add that to the lack of hurricane activity and Al Gore must be sweating into his warming egg nog…
Mike, I can’t agree with you more. I remember 20 years ago they were saying some of the major cities would be under water due to ocean water rise. Now years later non of that has come to a fruit.
I commented on this before about Louisville finishing in the top ten warmest years on record. Even if Louisville dropped to 28 degrees by midnight, which is probably not happening with this cloud deck, my calculations have a finish of 0.1 degree above 2010’s annual average, giving way to a solid #6 ranking at 59.175 or rounded up to 59.2.