Feeling more like late January to close out the month
Temperatures look cool the next couple of days before we rebound to begin February
After a chilly and wet finish to the weekend across Central and Eastern Kentucky, it looked and felt like the end of January on Monday. With low clouds hanging in much of the day and a brisk west to northwest wind in place, afternoon highs struggled to rebound into the upper 30s so it was a day with below average temperatures which is something we haven’t see much of the last week. With some low-level moisture hanging around, scattered snow showers were flying early Monday with the highest elevations of Southeastern Kentucky picking up some accumulations while the low lying areas stayed dry. This was illustrated perfectly in the picture below from Lynch in Harlan County where the snow accumulated up on the ridgetops.
Heading into Tuesday our focus will be on a fast moving clipper system diving to the southeast out of the Great Lakes, Our rain chances should pick up a bit after daybreak with the precipitation expected to fall in the liquid form. Any “mix” should remain to our north as temperatures drop to just below freezing at daybreak but it appears we’ll be warm enough by the time the bulk of the moisture arrives to keep it all rain as afternoon highs head into the low40s.
Other than a few morning flurries Wednesday on the backside of the departing low, it looks dry and cool for the final day of January with afternoon highs held in check and only reaching the low 40s. The good news is that February looks pretty good to start as temperatures rebound nicely Thursday with highs surging into the low-50s!
The big question for Friday is: Will the groundhog see its shadow? Of course the legend says that if it does, then 6 more weeks of winter. No shadow means that spring is right around the corner. Any groundhog here in the Bluegrass Friday may see its shadow given that some sunshine is expected so we’ll see how that plays out. Looking ahead to the upcoming weekend, Saturday looks dry with highs in the low 50s before the model data diverges with a system passing by to our south. One of the major models throws some rain our way Sunday, while the other has us dry with a few high clouds around. We’ll keep an eye on this as the week wears on!
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy and cold. Lows in the upper 20s and low 30s.
TUESDAY: Breezy with occasional rain. Highs in the mid-40s.
TUESDAY NIGHT: More showers, ending as flurries. Lows in the low-30s.
