Another round of wintry and impactful weather across the area to end the week
Accumulating snow is possible into Friday morning, which will negatively impact travel
After a quiet Thursday across Central and Eastern Kentucky, the first of two waves of low pressure will impact the region Thursday evening with a mixed bag of freezing rain/sleet and snow develops across our southern counties with mainly snow expected farther to the north. Even though temperatures rose above freezing Thursday, temperatures and road temperatures will cool off and whatever precipitation that falls will cause some slick roadways across the area as we go deeper into Thursday evening. You’ll definitely want to use caution and stay off the roads if possible.
Wave number two will follow suit quickly into early Friday with colder air and better chance for accumulating snow thanks to this being a little stronger system. We may see a brief lull in the activity for a few hours after Midnight before it should be cold enough from top to bottom as temperatures fall into the low to mid-20s so it should be all snow for everyone. Right now we are looking at a general 1″-3″ snow here in the Bluegrass with higher amounts in the east where the precipitation stays all snow through the bulk of the event. Areas of Southern Kentucky should see a bit less due to the wintry mix potential. A Winter Weather Advisory is out for all of Central and Eastern Kentucky through Friday…with the expiration holding off until 7am Saturday for Eastern Kentucky. A Winter Storm Warning is out for the higher elevations of Pike, Letcher and Harlan Counties with higher snow totals up on the hilltops.
Arctic air will follow suit once again for the upcoming weekend with more bitter cold temperatures expected on Saturday and Sunday mornings. After low single digits to kick off the weekend Saturday morning, afternoon highs should recover into the upper teens. Our coldest morning will be Sunday thanks to strong Arctic high pressure overhead, which should allow temperatures to make a run below zero in many locations with the anticipated snowpack adding to the cooling at the surface.
Expect a quick shift in our weather pattern with milder air returning by the middle of next week. We may see more active weather but it should be in the form of rain as afternoon highs surge into the 50s on Wednesday and beyond late next week. Several rounds of rain will be possible so we’ll have to watch for the potential of some flooding given the recent snow and the possible rain next week.
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
THURSDAY NIGHT: Snow/wintry mix changing to all snow. Lows in the low 20s.
FRIDAY: Breezy with snow showers, falling temps late. Highs in the mid to upper 20s.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Partly cloudy and very cold. Lows from 5 to 10 above.
