Brutal cold and wind chills stay put into Christmas Eve
Luckily the winds will back off a bit into Saturday, but temperatures will remain very cold through the holiday weekend.
Mother Nature brought the Arctic air into Central and Eastern Kentucky right on schedule late Thursday creating brutal winter conditions around the area. As we talked about all week leading up to the event, temperatures crashed incredibly into early Friday as the front moved through. It was 43 degrees at 9:50pm Thursday evening in Lexington…and 3 hours later, we were at 10 degrees! Of course the strong, gusty winds were blowing the snow all around and created the dangerous wind chills…in the -20 to -30 degree range as temperatures plummeted below zero into Friday morning.
Heading into the holiday weekend, the focus will continue to be on the bitter cold and wind as our snow chances should be nothing more than a few flurries. Temperatures into Christmas Eve morning will dance around the ) degree mark as wind chills remain in the -20 to -25 degree range, especially early. If you have to do any traveling, have that preparedness kit with you! A Wind Chill Advisory is out until 1pm Saturday before the winds relax a bit and temperatures recover into the low to mid-teens for afternoon highs. Just remember that wind chills will likely stay several degrees below zero until sometime Christmas Day.
It should be a “White Christmas” by definition as we’ll have some snow on the ground with very little, if any melting thanks to the extreme cold. After starting out in the single digits, afternoon highs will run into the upper teens and low 20s with some sunshine, so it should feel a little better despite the very cold air hanging around. By Monday, a fast moving “Alberta Clipper” will dive into the Ohio Valley with some additional snow chances. These are fast movers but very efficient snow producers so it’s possible we could lay a little more snow on the ground to begin next week.
You know how it is with Kentucky weather…if you don’t like it…just give it a few days and it will change. That will be the case into late next week as we close out 2022. Milder air is on the way and temperatures may surge through the 50s and close to 60 degrees by New Year’s Eve! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
FRIDAY NIGHT: Windy and frigid, a few flurries. Lows around 0, with wind chills -20 to-25.
CHRISTMAS EVE: Breezy and very cold, some sun late. Highs in the low teens with wind chills -10 to -15.
CHRISTMAS EVE NIGHT: Scattered clouds, more bitter cold. Lows around 5 with wind chills 0 to -10.
