Good Wednesday, folks. Powerful Hurricane Michael is heading into the Florida Panhandle today, likely bringing a devastating storm surge with it. At the same time, a major fall cold front is rolling across Kentucky. That front will bring a taste of November temps to our region. Oh, and I’m also tracking a Pacific tropical system that will bring rain to Kentucky.
All of this is leading us into a much colder than normal pattern.
As mentioned, Hurricane Michael is bearing down on the Florida Panhandle. This is the strongest storm to hit the region since Opal back around the same time in 1995. Here’s the latest from the National Hurricane Center…
Our exclusive interactive radar is designed to take you anywhere across the country to show you real time conditions. It has tabs for Watches/Warnings, current conditions, storm reports and storm tracks. The most awesome thing comes from being able to watch any active live storm chaser streams. Many of these are in the path of Michael, so click on the active streams to watch the live video of the storm moving in…
Of course, you can use that same radar to track today’s showers and storms across the bluegrass state. These showers and storms will increase as the day wears on, with the best coverage coming tonight and early Thursday as the cold front slams through.
Here are the rest of your local tracking tools:
Rain ends from west to east on Thursday as temps take a big tumble. Everyone spends the afternoon in the low and mid 60s, then dropping quickly during the evening. By Friday morning, a kiss of frost can’t be ruled out with some thermometers hitting the mid and upper 30s…
Friday’s temps will stay in the 50s for highs with a chilly breeze blowing. Skies stay mainly sunny, but watch for a few clouds moving in late in the day. Those clouds are ahead of a sneaky little system that has a chance to bring a shower or two in here Friday night. The NAM is even showing some wet snows mixing with the rain just to our north…
I suspect much of the showers dry up before moving in here, but it will be a close call for a few drops. If the clouds clear, patchy frost is once again possible on Saturday morning.
Our Pacific system works quickly across the country, bringing chilly showers to us from later Saturday night through Monday…
That system also brings colder air into the region with temps making a run at the freezing mark for lows on Tuesday.
Watch how the cold shots keep coming at us over the next few weeks, as the pattern does a 180 from where we have been recently…
That could bring an end to the growing season with frost and freezing temps. Maybe our first taste of the 20s?
From one extreme to the other!
I will throw you another update later today. Make it a good one and take care.
So ready for the mosquitoes to crawl into their holes the next 6 months.
I’m with you Jeff Hamlin!
Some of the weather types I follow on Twitter are suggesting that Michael has a shot at hitting Cat 5 before landfall.
This would be uncharted territory, although Opal did bomb in the Gulf back in Oct 1995, but weakened before hitting the Florida panhandle.
Chris has consistently been correct on Michael’s path and still more west than NHC path. The inland tropical storm warnings are being expanded NW. I still think most of KY want have much rain but my tiny far SE KY area may get more than currently forecasted.
Now…bring on the COOL!
Back in April we went directly from winter to summer, now directly from summer to winter.. it’s laughable at this point.
So far, the models that were proponents for a westward track does not look likely. It appears the Euro and the other NHC forecast models did better than the GFS and Canadian. Still, I don’t think the storm was expected to intensify this much as of a few days ago. I remember one forecast intensity was for a high end tropical storm. I believe that forecast was made this past Sunday. Just got back from Myrtle Beach last night. They actually fared pretty well after Florence. River levels actually are below flood stage in most areas now, but Michael may bring more high water threats this week/end.
Uep, this looks east in trend. Not seeing how we get much from this at all. Cooler weather seems our main affect.
Thelma Lou is ready for some fall and Halloween decorations…may even break out the Great Pumpkin dvd this weekend. Looking forward to it!