Dry and a bit colder into the mid-week

Highs will be back in the upper 20s but at least we'll avoid any major Arctic air

1 hour ago

T.G. Shuck,

With a wave of energy sliding through the Commonwealth Tuesday, it was all about location as a mixed bag of snow and rain spread across the area. With temperatures warming into the mid to upper 30s to even around 40 degrees for afternoon highs, we saw a few spotty rain showers initially (with some light snow in far Northern Kentucky with colder air) but the moisture moving in with the main wave of low pressure helped cool the overall column along with surface temperatures enough to change the activity over to some wet, slushy snow farther to the north. The dividing line looks to be either side of the I-64 corridor through Tuesday evening with much of the Bluegrass and areas of Northern Kentucky seeing the potential of light accumulations that may have a low- to mid range impact on travel Tuesday evening and into early Wednesday morning. A “tiered” Winter Weather Advisory is out for that part of the state with staggered ending times from north to south as the system wraps up.

Watch out for some slick roadways across the area Wednesday morning as colder air filters in behind the departing wave of low pressure. Temperatures should be in the low 20s to start the day so if you do have a little fresh snow (or even a light glaze if we see some freezing drizzle in a few spots) covering your roadways, just allow some extra time to get to where you need to be. The rest of Wednesday looks rather cold with mostly cloudy skies expected to stick around. With the north to northwest flow in place, the southeastern mountains could see a few additional snow showers during the day, which may be enough to coat the ground in a few locations. Afternoon highs will only recover into the mid to upper 20s and while this is well below average for this time in February, at least we aren’t looking at any Arctic air-mass like we dealt with recently so it will be manageable to be out and about.

The upper level pattern will feature a northwest flow aloft into the late week, which is a typical set-up for the “clipper express”, which brings the fast moving waves of low pressure and cold fronts dropping out of Southern Canada and through the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley. Thursday should be another cold day with afternoon highs still struggling to get back into the mid to upper 20s, especially given that we are looking at low teens to begin the day. At least a bit of sunshine should help lift the spirits somewhat as our weather stays dry for the time being. Closing out the week on Friday, the aforementioned wave to the north may squeeze out a few rain/snow showers depending on temperatures but this doesn’t appear to be anything of significance as afternoon highs jump back into the mid to upper 30s thanks to a southwest flow ahead of the approaching front.

The upcoming weekend looks rather chilly but luckily not frigid as we continue to try to slowly thaw out from the deep freeze of late January. High pressure should build in for Saturday with some sunshine around, but afternoon highs will remain on the cold side as readings top out into the upper 20s and low 30s. The latest data is hinting at a weak mid-level wave sliding through the Ohio Valley on Sunday now, which would bring a little more in the way of cloud cover and possibly a few flurries (as opposed to mainly sunny skies) as temperatures climb back into the mid-30s. As we mentioned in yesterday’s post, many of the models are now showing an upward trend in temperatures as a bit of a ridge builds into the eastern part of the country. This will allow afternoon highs to climb back well into the 40s and hopefully help melt off some of the lingering snow and ice. There may be another storm system toward the middle part of next week but it looks to be an all rain event given the “milder” temperatures.