Active winter weather pattern rolls along into the late week

With the Arctic air-mass in place over the Ohio Valley and the recent snowpack coming into play, it was a frigid start to Wednesday across Central and Eastern Kentucky. Actual air temperatures dropped into the low single digits here in the Bluegrass with several spots down south fell below zero with the heavier snow back. It felt even colder than that thanks to a light southwest wind, which pushed “feel-like” temperatures down into the -10 to 15 degree range as expected. With plenty of sunshine and the same southwest wind picking up through the day, afternoon highs surged back into the low to mid-20s across the board, although it still felt pretty cold with the wind. It was cold enough for clothes to freeze that were left outside, which made for a clever photo from Mary Reed Runyon in Eastern Kentucky!

The focus now shifts from the cold to another round of w2intry weather as we close out the week. There are two waves of energy set to move through the region, one from the southwest late Thursday and another from the northwest into Friday. The only change is that we could see a bit of a wintry mix across Southern Kentucky with the first wave coming through Thursday afternoon as the southwest flow at the surface and just above it pushes the warm nose of air into the region. The farther north and east you travel, the better chance it should be a mainly all snow event and everyone should be all snow Thursday night and Friday as the next wave comes in. Given the expected impact of this latest storm system, A Winter Weather Advisory is out for all of Central and Eastern Kentucky from Noon Thursday until 7pm Friday so plan for some slick roadways thanks to the snow and potential light icing in a few locations.

Right now it looks like a general 1″-2″ snowfall with a few spots seeing a bit more than that across the north and east. Any wintry mix will cut down on snow totals, especially down south. While this shouldn’t be a major system as we mentioned it will be impactful once again with snowy and icy roads likely late Thursday into Friday, which should have an impact on travel and especially the morning commute so keep that in mind.

Expect another round of Arctic air to drop down into the Ohio Valley just in time for the upcoming weekend. It should be a repeat performance as far as early morning lows are concerned with single digit lows expected in most spots. With the additional snowpack in place, we may see a few temperatures below zero especially on Sunday morning so be prepared for that and don’t forget about your pets.

There is some good news in the extended forecast as we see a pretty drastic shift in our weather pattern with milder air working back into the eastern part of the country. Temperatures will be on the rise as our rain chances ramp up late Tuesday and into next Wednesday with highs surging back into the low 50s so the roller coaster ride of weather patterns continues heading into late January.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: A few clouds, not as cold. Lows in the mid to upper teens.
THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy with afternoon snow showers, wintry mix south. Highs in the low to mid-30s.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with light snow. Lows in the mid-20s.