Good afternoon and Happy New Year. It’s a dreary end to 2020 and this carries over into the start of 2021 as another storm system moves into the region. This will bring gusty winds, heavy rain, strong storms and a big temp surge our way. As we get deeper into January, the pattern continues to look super active as a much colder look slowly takes control. Winter weather lovers should be liking the setup ahead.

Let’s kick this New Year’s Eve party off with a look at what’s going on right now. Cold temps, low clouds and a few leftover showers are out there across the region. Areas of northern Kentucky may still see a touch of a mix from time to time. Here are your radars…

A strong low pressure developing in the lower Mississippi Valley lifts northward tonight into New Year’s Day. This means gusty winds increase tonight as temps start to climb quickly from southwest to northeast. Temps hit the 60s for many as we head into day one of 2021. Rain and thunderstorms will also increase quickly and we will need to be on guard for a few strong or severe thunderstorms showing up New Year’s Day. The Storm Prediction Center continues to show areas of western and central Kentucky in the low-end risk for severe storms…

The area highlighted is primarily for damaging winds and a possible tornado spin up. You can see this showing up on the tornado parameter numbers from the Hi Res NAM…

This is something we will keep a close eye on.

Colder air comes in behind this with another system moving in here Saturday night and Sunday. Temps are marginal for winter weather, but some rain and snow will likely show up…

It will be interesting to watch the evolution of the pattern into the first full week of the new year. We know significant blocking is starting to flex over the Arctic and Greenland, but how quickly will we see the results of this take hold. The Canadian is trying to speed this process up, allowing for winter weather chances in the week ahead…

The EURO is trending in that direction, too…

I will have your normal update later tonight. Have a great New Year’s Eve and take care.