A complex storm system heads through the commonwealth on Wednesday
From early morning snows up north to windy and briefly milder conditions with rain elsewhere, it should be an interesting mid-week of weather across the area
After a beautiful Tuesday across Central and Eastern Kentucky with lots of sunshine and afternoon highs surging into the mid and upper 40s, a complex storm system will roll through the heart of the Ohio Valley on Wednesday bring snow initially to some areas, followed by wind and rain before we change back to snow showers as colder air wraps around the backside of the system. Here is what to expect as far as timing and the key messages rolling into Wednesday.
The exact track of the low is going to be critical to areas that receive the expected snowfall during the early hours of Wednesday. The favored area for some brief have, wet snow will be areas just west and north of Lexington where a Winter Weather Advisory is up from Midnight until Noon on Wednesday where a few locations could see a 1″ plus snowfall. Keep in mind that the bulk of this should fall prior to sunrise so the biggest concern will be low visibility and the snow falling quickly enough to cover some roadways despite ground temperatures not being overly cold.
After sunrise as the low approaches from the southwest, some drier air will work into Central and Eastern Kentucky as temperatures rise and winds pick up. The rain much of Wednesday will be scattered at best while temperatures jump all the way into the low 50s thanks to a southwest wind gusting to 40 to 45 miles per hour right on the nose of the low. A Wind Advisory is out for Central and Eastern Kentucky from 7am to 7pm on Wednesday.
Once the low passes by to our east, temperatures should tumble through the mid to late afternoon from west to east as colder air on the backside starts to drop into the region. This will push temperatures down into the 30s by Wednesday evening with readings continuing to fall to around freezing by Thursday morning. With some wrap around moisture and another wave of energy embedded in the northwest flow, consistent snow showers will be possible Wednesday night and through Thursday with some heavier bursts possible at times. This should be enough to lay down a light coating/accumulation in a few spots so we’ll have to watch the Thursday morning commute for potential slick roadways with temperatures around freezing.
We should catch a brief break from the active weather as we close out the week and head into the first half of the weekend before another storm system slides into the Ohio Valley on Sunday with a chilly rain expected for Central and Eastern Kentucky.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Breezy with rain south, snow north. Lows in the mid to upper 30s.
WEDNESDAY: Windy with scattered showers, colder late . Highs in the low 50s, falling into the upper 30s by late afternoon.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Breezy with snow showers. Lows in the low-30s.
