Mid March cold sticks around into Tuesday

Afternoon highs will struggle into the 30s as the official end of winter is on the horizon

3 hours ago

T.G. Shuck,

After a wet and stormy early Monday morning which featured strong to damaging winds and prompted several severe thunderstorm warnings (and a few tornado warnings west and south) across Central and Eastern Kentucky, we flipped from one season to another quickly. Temperatures in the 70s on Sunday were replaced by a return of winter-like conditions as temperatures tumbled into the mid-30s behind the departing front boundary. Adding to the drastic change was a brisk west to northwest wind, which knocked wind chills down into the 20s along with scattered snow showers that fell at a good enough clip to cover the grassy areas and elevated surfaces (with a quick 1″ to 2″ in some spots) so it was quite the change across the commonwealth to begin the new week.

Unfortunately the cold air will be hanging around heading into Tuesday so you’ll definitely need the heavier coats on St. Patrick’s Day! Temperatures should tumble into the upper teens for early morning lows and with a steady west wind in place our “feel-like” temperatures could even be in the single digits for a short window early. This will be one of the colder mornings we’ve seen in nearly a month so you’ll need to bundle up for sure. Some lingering cloud cover should give way to a bit of sunshine as we head into the afternoon hours, but it will do very little to help moderate temperatures as afternoon highs struggle to get back into the upper 20s and low-30s for afternoon highs.

Heading into the mid-week, a fast moving clipper system will dive southeastward, passing through the heart of the Ohio Valley. Temperatures should be cold enough for a few snowflakes across the northern half of the state during the morning hours before a southwest wind pushes milder air into the region so what little bit of activity we do see should end as a few sprinkles of light rain showers. Temperatures should rebound a bit but still be below average with afternoon highs back into the mid to upper 40s. A weak warm front will try to arc through the region into the late week so temperatures will bounce back even more into Thursday with afternoon highs climbing back into the low-60s with a mix of clouds and sunshine for the final day of winter.

Spring officially arrives at 10:46 am Eastern time on Friday and Mother Nature should cooperate as temperatures continue their upward climb. It should be a pretty decent finish to the week, even with some scattered cloudiness as afternoon highs reach the upper 60s in most spots, which is a solid 10 degrees above average rolling into late March. This weekend a wave of low pressure should be diving through the Eastern Great Lakes with a weak trailing cold front eventually moving through the commonwealth. Right now Saturday looks dry and pleasant with afternoon highs in the upper 60s and low-70s so it should be good for any outdoor plans you may have this weekend. Some of the data is trying to squeeze a shower or two out with the boundary moving through but for now it should be mainly dry. The front will be slow to drop to our south but it will eventually bring some cooler air back into the picture into early next week as temperatures drop back into the low to mid-50s by next Monday.