Good Saturday everyone. We have a few showers and storms kicking off a much warmer weekend across the bluegrass state. This action is on the leading edge of a warm front that is lifting northward across Kentucky today and this means quite the temp spread before the warm wins the battle.
The greatest threat for showers and storms today will be across the northern half of the state. You can track this action on regional radar…
The temp map today may look fairly wild with a 20 degree temp spread from north to south possible into early this afternoon. The warm air will eventually win the battle and balance things out with temps across the north warming up by late today.
That wills set the stage for a warm Sunday with highs heading toward the lower 80s under partly sunny skies.
As our temps warm… the plains states will likely see one heck of a tornado outbreak today. That stuff will stay well to our west through the weekend. That storm will work into the Great Lakes on Monday and will drag a cold front across Kentucky. This front will touch off scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening and a few of these could be strong.
Temps will dip closer to normal behind this front on Tuesday before warming back up again for the middle and end of next week.
Have a sensational Saturday and take care.
Its hard to believe that in the outbreak areas of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas they have a torcon of 8 whereas we had a 10 in March. I’ve heard so much about the shift of tornado alley but I just haven’t been able to buy into the fact of it setting up anywhere near Ky but I am seriously questioning myself today! Praying for those people today for sure!
As expected, a couple of PDS (particularly dangerous situation) tornado watches are up for the plains. Mostly severe t-storm warnings for now, but that will change.
As others have said, still looks like the strongest of this mess will well miss us.
Regarding eastern Ky, fortunately about a century of records show nothing close to the scale of March 2 2012 (downtown Middlesboro Ky in 1988 comes to mind, but even that was a single short-lived if still strong F3). If we go by this alone, a similar eastern Ky event might be very unlikely to happen soon, perhaps for most of us not again in our lifetimes.
For a similar comparison, West Virginia had a very devastating tornado outbreak in 1944 (close to 110 deaths, along with high loss of life in Pennsylvania and Maryland).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1944_Appalachians_tornado_outbreak
Otherwise, WV events have been relatively tiny by comparison, both before and since 1944.
It’s usually central/western Ky that gets in the cross hairs. Due to the terrain, it seems the elements have to be just right to have tornado outbreaks in eastern Ky (and WV). With a few exceptions, even the Super Outbreak of 1974 stopped producing twisters once east of I-75 between Lexington and the Tn state line.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1974_Super_Outbreak
Omaha/Lincoln. looks to be ground zero later on. Nebraska spring football game this afternoon in Lincoln.
Looks like a night event for many also. Makes me nervous when you can’t see it coming. Got caught between two tornado warned storms at night once and learned my lesson. Too close for comfort.
Thanks, Chris. Glad to see the temps warming up some, as my azaeleas are in full bloom, and it has been a fight to keep them covered at night in the cold temps we’ve had. Here in somerset right now, we have partly cloudy skies, and a slight breeze. Temp is in the lower 60s right now. Hope it blows on northward, as Lindsey Wilson’s spring football game is today. Hoping nothing terrible for the plains states. don’t wish that kindof weather on anyone…
The folks in the midwest are in our thoughts and prayers. Let’s hope it won’t be as bad as predicted, but it is looking grim. I’m just old enough to remember the aftermath of the 1974 tornadoes, even though I wasn’t yet in grade school. I saw the destruction in the Jett subdivision of Frankfort, as well as just outside of Richmond. As a result, I was skittish of even thunder for sometime, nervous when Brad James of WKYT would come on with a tornado watch. Thankfully, the deeper fear didn’t last all that long, but I still have a healthy respect for the power but also grace of tornadoes.
Hello Chris. I hope we don`t wind up getting alot of severe weather this coming week. I`m praying for the people out west. Hope it don`t get as bad as they say it`s going to get. Have a good day everyone. Catch y`all later.
Stubborn clouds are messing up a otherwise great spring day, go away warm front, bring on the sun.
I, for one, am so glad not to be dealing with this here after that craziness we had in early March. I was so nervous that day, especially since it happened in 2004 in my area. The foundation had been laid on my house being built, but the house next to mine was almost finished and the roof was gone from it after the tornado that hit Masterson station. Had my house (that I live in now) been built, it would have been damaged I’m sure.
I second your thoughts. I have never been that fearful about the weather as I was in march. I hope that it was truly a once in a lifetime event. I felt like a sitting duck, and it was not a good feeling at all.