Cooler air returns for the official start of spring

It was another mild day to finish out the winter season on Wednesday across Central and Eastern Kentucky as a strong southwest wind helped to push afternoon highs back into the low 70s despite clouds around ahead of our approaching storm system, Winds gusted 35 to 40 miles per hour and the breezy conditions won’t be going anywhere heading into the late week. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed the mild air as some chilly air is set to return on Thursday.

A cold front will slide through the commonwealth into the early hours of Thursday bringing a chance of showers and thunderstorms along with it. There is a Level 1 severe risk (out of 5) from the Storm Prediction Center for Central and Southern Kentucky as a few of the storms have the potential to be strong with damaging winds being the main threat. One thing playing in our favor should be less instability with the line arriving during the nighttime hours, which should lessen the severe storm chance this far east although with gradient winds being a bit high it won’t take much to get some stronger winds down to the surface with a few of the storms.

Spring officially arrives at 5:01 am Thursday morning and ironically it’s going to feel more like winter for the first day of the new season. With colder air moving in behind the departing cold front, a brisk northwest wind, and a weak wave of energy rotating through the area, expect a raw and dreary day! There should be plenty of low clouds along with some chilly showers occasionally mixing with a few wet snowflakes. Temperatures will struggle to get into the mid-40s in most locations and with the winds still gusting 20 to 25 miles per hour, temperatures will feel more like the upper 20s and low 30s at times so be prepared for a cold day!

Temperatures should bounce back quickly on Friday with a weak wave of energy off to our northwest, allowing a return flow to kick in. Afternoon highs will climb back into the upper 50s to around 60 with a dry finish to the week. The aforementioned wave of energy may produce a few stray showers Friday night but the beginning of the weekend looks good at this point. Saturday will be the day for any outdoor activities with some sunshine around and afternoon highs still hanging around the 60 degree mark. A stronger storm system should arrive late Sunday into Monday morning with another round of showers and thunderstorms so keep the rain gear handy. Our overall weather pattern looks a bit unsettled into early next week as a few low end waves of energy keep passing shower chances around Tuesday/Wednesday as afternoon highs remain close to average for late March.