Good afternoon, everyone. It’s a cold winter’s day across Kentucky as a few flurries and snow showers fly. As we roll ahead, the pattern continues to look mild just in time for Christmas week. Obviously, that’s not good news for anyone wanting a White Christmas. It ain’t happening.
Once again Flood Warnings are out for several areas of the Commonwealth…
The snow showers and flurries are flying, especially across northern and eastern parts of the state. A few coatings will show up…
Temps today stay in the 20s for much of the state, especially in central and eastern Kentucky. Wind chills are deep into the teens. The NAM family and the Canadian nailed today’s cold, while the GFS and Euro were way to warm and couldn’t even find today’s clouds, let alone snowflakes.. This seems to be something happening more regularly than before. The medium range models have had a major struggle to start this winter.
Speaking of the Canadian, it’s the only medium range operational model showing our southern system impacting Kentucky with a few showers this weekend…
I’m still not sold on moisture making it this far north, but I do think there is a decent chance of that happening. Meanwhile, the GFS is on the other end of the spectrum with the storm working through the central Gulf of Mexico…
Temps are pretty darn mild around this into Christmas week. There is likely to be a dramatic swing in the pattern as we head into the final weekend of the year, through.
Make it a good one and take care.
What a boring pattern. The warm/wet rain bullet train continues rolling into 2020. I don’t see it being derailed anytime soon. A couple cold/normal days might briefly delay the train. But it won’t be taken out of service.
I think I wrote this to you last week but not for sure you saw it…I am growing palms outside, LOL. I want have them covered at all during Christmas week. Granted, they are “hardy” palms native to the coastal Carolinas and Deep South but still not in our zone for growing. They have been in the ground two years for my Needle Palm and one year for my Windmill (Trachycarpus Fortunei). There is just no way I could have grown these plants decades ago here without constant protection and I barely have to cover them I think I protected them about 13 days total last year, lol.
Still, I know it sounds crazy and is a lot wishful thinking thrown in here too, but I still think we get one good hit at some point soon. I hope we both get the best storm since the 90s as we are in the same geographic zone with similar storm path needed! Hang on to hope as that is all we can do!
Yes, I read that. I noticed some places around my area that have Hisbiscus growing outside. I might be wrong but thought those were more a southern plant. I thought if you had them here you had to bring them in. I guess next up on our growing list maybe coconuts or bananas?
I have bananas too, lol, but hardy type. I have had them and Elephant Ears for years come back without lifting the tubers. Throw on some mulch after first killing freeze and good to go unless we start going below zero again like the good ole days!
It doesn’t pay to grow anything that’s not native.
It’s a tank top flip flop Christmas. Ho Ho Ho Awesome!
Temps made it to 37 in my area thankfully. There was still ice on the roads at 11 am this morning.
I wouldn’t brag about the Canadian model, because it’s been a poor performer too overall.
Something to pay attention to, the CPC has our region in a very likely category for above normal temperatures from December 24 through January 1.
…and this afternoon’s QPF outlook from WPC for the next 7 days shows Kentucky mostly dry, although far southeast Kentucky could get some very light measurable returns, nothing to add to existing high water concerns.
Unless a late month cold front brings widespread heavy rain, odds are fairly good both Louisville airport official climate data locations will end December with below normal precipitation. That seems hard to fathom, but true. In fact, most of the western half of the state is below normal on precipitation for the month. Paducah has only gotten 0.75″ for the month. Of course, it’s not “dry” anywhere, but my point is with all the talk of excessive rain and warnings, etc, this has been an east-based wet month for the state and not a widespread entire state soaking month.