Good Friday everyone. A strong cold front is crossing Kentucky today and this will cause our temps to take a serious tumble from west to east. All of this is leading us into a pattern that may bring a taste of wintry weather to parts of the state next week.

More on the wild scenario unfolding across the east in a bit.

Let’s not shortchange the front we have out there today. We’re likely to see a 20-30 degree temp spread across the state this afternoon as the boundary works in. Readings across eastern Kentucky will spike into the 70s as the west sees temps struggling to get past 50 degrees. Thermometers will tank as the front blows in today and the drop will be fairly dramatic. Follow the dip…

Current temperatures

Temps this evening will fall through the 40s for area high school football games. Winds are going to be a factor with gusts to 30mph possible.

Showers will increase from west to east today and those will likely hang tough into Saturday across central and eastern Kentucky. Temps in these areas will likely stay in the upper 40s for highs. Additional showers will be possible across the east into Sunday as moisture hangs along the western slopes of the mountains. A wet snowflake may try to mix in across the higher elevations by Sunday night.

That leads us into the extreme weather event possibility for early next week. The marriage of a deep trough and Hurricane Sandy is something that’s being talked about in every weather circle known to man. This setup is unprecedented so there isn’t anything for us to look back on to use as a guide. You will hear the word ‘historic’ thrown around a lot in the coming days and for good reason.

It’s all about where the phase between Sandy and the trough happens and we’re still a few days from knowing where that is. The farther south they marry, the better the chance we see some flakes next week.  Here’s the latest information and track forecast from the National Hurricane Center…

  [Image of 5-day forecast and coastal areas under a warning or a watch]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The European Model has been as steady as I’ve seen a model with such a big event. It continues to take Sandy into the Mid Atlantic states then westward into the eastern Ohio Valley…

That’s a pretty threatening track in terms of the winter potential around here. The NAVY NOGAPS continues to be in lock step with the European…

The leading Hurricane Model has their back with the Mid Atlantic landfall…

 That shows the storm basically stalling out across Virginia.

Some of the other models offer a farther northward track of Sandy into southern New England. The GFS Ensembles…

The GFS has shown every possible solution over the past few days and changes from run to run. If someone is making a forecast based on that model… good luck! 😉

So there you have it. We are, at least, in the game to get in on an early season taste of winter across parts of the bluegrass state. I can’t tell you with any certainty that it will snow next week, but the chance is certainly there. It’s all about the track of Sandy and the interaction with the trough across the east.

This should be a fun weekend of tracking… and it’s only October. 🙂

I will update things later today, so check back. Have a great Friday and take care.