Good Wednesday afternoon everyone. It is all eyes on a fast moving winter storm that will sweep across the state Thursday into Thursday night. This will be a hit and run snow maker for the entire region with higher totals in the north and lower totals across the south.

Let’s get a little deeper into the storm ahead…

– As we have said from day one… this would be a moderate event with a swath of 4″ or a bit more of snow setting up across the state.

– Light snow will break out across parts of western and northern Kentucky late tonight into early Thursday. This can impact the morning commute in the Louisville and Cincy/Northern Ky metro areas.

– The snow will rapidly increase from west to east Thursday reaching the eastern part of the state by early evening.

– The steady snows look to last for about a 6-10 hour period for any one location.

– Most areas will see a 2 hour period of light snow to start. As the arctic front slams southward through the area… we will see a 2-4 hour window of moderate snow with some embedded heavy bursts. That will be followed by another 2-4 hour period of lighter snows that will quickly taper off.

– It is right along and just behind the arctic front that the bulk of the snow will fall. There is a good amount of forcing along this boundary and that tells me some heavier bursts will be likely. Winds will gust up as well and visibilities will drop big time. Roads will quickly become snow covered as the arctic front snows slam through.

– This same arctic front will help ensure this will be a moderate event as it will sweep the snows to our east by Friday morning. Here is the latest snow map…



Here is a look at snow numbers I expect for some select cities…

Covington: 6″

Louisville: 4.5″

Maysville: 4.5″

Frankfort: 4″

Lexington: 3.5″

Ashland: 3.5″

Morehead: 3.5″

Elizabethtown: 3″

Richmond: 3″

Paducah: 3″

Pikeville: 2″

Bowling Green: 2″

Somerset: 2″

The other aspect of this storm will be the blast of arctic air moving in for Friday. Temps will drop into the teens by Friday morning and likely stay there for most of the day. Winds will be gusty and will take our wind chills down to around 0. If we clear the skies out Friday night… actual thermometers can flirt with 0.

We are always looking ahead here on the blog… and things continue to look very active. We have a light snow and flurry maker this weekend that will be followed by, what should become, a big storm early next week. I will be shocked if we get through this winter without a major snowstorm around here.

More updates to come later today so check back. Have a great afternoon and take care.