A quick break in the active weather pattern for Thursday
Enjoy the dry conditions why they last as another round of rain, wind then snow showers and cold will arrive Friday
After some early morning snow showers that coated the ground and created a few slick roadways across Central and Eastern Kentucky, it turned out to be a cloudy but dry Wednesday! Sure it was cold with temperatures struggling to get into the mid to upper 30s but at least we were precipitation free and the very strong wind gusts subsided as the area of low pressure quickly exited off the the northeast. While this wasn’t a significant winter weather maker, there were a few locations that saw enough light snow to cover the ground early Wednesday.
You’ll definitely want to enjoy the break from the active weather pattern on Thursday, especially given what we have on the horizon for the weekend and beyond. With a wave of low pressure to our north, a southwest flow will stay in place so winds will be breezy allowing for some milder air to slide into the commonwealth. Throw in some much needed sunshine and afternoon highs should surge into the upper 40s on Thursday!
The break won’t last long as another strong area of low pressure spins through the heart of the Ohio Valley on Friday. Expect a repeat performance of what we just saw the last few days with rain and wind followed by snow showers and colder heading into Saturday. Winds will be quite strong with gusts 40 to 45 miles per hour with the low so close by and this time we could see a few isolated storms possible. It won’t take much to get those very strong winds down to the surface so the Storm Prediction Center has a low end level 1 severe threat on Friday so that’s just something to keep in mind. Highs will be in the low 50s and we should pick up another good soaker with rainfall totals between a half inch to 1″.
As this system departs the area a few snow showers and colder air will follow but it shouldn’t be a major issue on Saturday. The bigger threat may be the potential for an all snow event Sunday and into Monday as another mid-level wave moves through. With cold enough air in place from top to bottom, it should be primarily snow and while totals don’t look overly high right now, we could see some legitimate accumulations this weekend and into the King holiday on Monday. Once this system pushes eastward, the door will be open for an blast of Arctic air to slide down into the Ohio Valley. Temperatures could tumble into the single digits for lows Tuesday morning with wind chills below zero. Welcome to January and stay tuned!
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: A few clouds, breezy and cold. Lows in low-30s.
THURSDAY: Mostly sunny, breezy and milder. Highs in the upper-40s.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Clouds increase with late showers. Lows in the low-30s.
