Good Saturday, folks. While we track a few systems into the region over the next few days, the star of the weather show is the potential for snow leading up to Christmas. This comes as an arctic front drops in and tries to develop a storm along it. It’s the best overall Christmas week look around here since back in 2010. Of course, this being 2020, whatever can go wrong will. Right? Nah… Let’s think positive for a change!! 🙂

ANNOUNCER: Before we get to the star attraction, let’s welcome to the stage the opening act of the Christmas week weather show. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for a light rain and light snow maker rolling across the state tonight and early Sunday. 👏🙌🤘

This is mostly a light rain maker, but odds favor a period of light snow across areas of north-central and northeastern Kentucky.

There’s pretty good agreement on a few flakes showing up…

Hi Res NAM

NAM

Short Range Canadian

Canadian

EURO

The GFS likes the southeastern corner for some flakes…

If someone does get in on a few hours of slushy snow, it won’t last long as we a few showers take over Sunday as temps make a run at 40. Another system then follows this up with a rain or snow shower in the north and northeast Monday night.

ANNOUNCER: Let’s give this light rain and light snow maker one final rounds of applause. (Inset golf clap before the lights go dark)

ANNOUNCER: And now Kentucky, let’s make some NOISE. (The crowd erupts chanting SNOW, SNOW, SNOW, SNOW) Let’s give it up for SNOW!!!!!

Was that lame of me? Totally. Admit it, though, that’s some funny stuff right there. At least I didn’t hit you guys with Ice Ice Baby. 😏

The pattern in the days leading up to Christmas continues to have a lot of potential. We find arctic air diving into the country behind a strong cold front. One low pressure works from the northern plains into the Mississippi Valley as the jet stream takes a major dip into our region. This whole setup may very well take on a negative tilt with the trough and we may also see this try to cutoff near us. You can see this on the GFS…

That would allow a second storm system to develop along the front and very close to us, likely rolling up the Appalachian Mountains. Where this storm system forms will be the determining factor on how much of the white stuff we can get.

The GFS continues to show a healthy snow maker from Wednesday night through Christmas Eve…

The Canadian continues to be slower with a much bigger storm system…

In my last post, I mentioned we are now in the timeframe where you will get some wild model swings, only to get the models to go back to their original solutions within 3 days. The new run of the EURO fits that description. It went from being similar to the GFS to playing into its built in bias of bundling too much energy coming from the southwest. That in turn leads to this…

That will look totally different with the next run and some of the other models may take some wild swings.

Again, we are in the ballgame for some snow just before or on Christmas. Whether it’s a little bit or more than a little bit, I can’t answer that one. Still, this is pretty darn cool to be talking about this less than a week before the big day.

I will have additional updates later today, so check back. Have a good one and take care.