Late December cold settles in to close out the year

 

After a record setting finish to the weekend across Central and Eastern Kentucky with temperatures feeling like spring, we got a dose of reality as we hit the home stretch for 2025. With a strong cold front bringing lots of wind to the area with gusts consistently over 40 miles per hour, temperatures went from the low 70s Sunday afternoon to the low 20s by late morning Monday, a solid 45 to 50 degree drop in a little over 12 hours! Some locations saw a 15 to 20 degree temperature drop in roughly 1 hour as the front moved through during the early hours of Monday. There were some spotty reports of trees and power lines down as a result of the gusty showers. It was a shock to the system for folks stepping out Monday morning with low to mid-30s in many locations (and falling) along with brisk west winds knocking wind chills down in the teens! It definitely felt like winter the rest of the day with brisk winds, cold temperatures hanging in the low to mid-20s and even a few flurries and snow showers flying around.

The cold air will settle in for Tuesday as we see a mostly sunny day but the sunshine won’t do much to help moderate temperatures. Winds will stay elevated into the early morning hours and with temperatures expected to be in the upper teens, those “feel-like” temps will be in the single digits for a period of time early. Winds should lessen through Tuesday but with a steady northwest breeze don’t look for much of a warm-up as afternoon highs struggle to get into the upper 20s and low-30s.

Closing out 2025 into the mid-week a fast moving clipper system will be dropping into the Great Lakes so we should see a bit of a southwest flow kicking back in, which should help afternoon highs recover into the mid to upper 30s with a mix of clouds and sunshine. The frontal boundary may have enough moisture with it to squeeze out a few snowflakes as folks head out to ring in the New Year on Wednesday evening but it shouldn’t be enough to cause any issues to speak of. This boundary will bring in a reinforcing shot of chilly air so look for afternoon highs to drop back a few degrees into the mid 30s for the first day of 2026 with dry weather kicking back in.

Looking ahead to the end of the week and the first weekend of the New Year, the data is showing a wave of low pressure sliding by to the south of the commonwealth. Temperatures will be on the upswing with afternoon highs climbing back into the upper 30s and low 40s. The timing of this system and some of the moisture arriving Friday night and into Saturday morning could create a bit of a wintry mix possibly as temperatures drop near freezing early but right now it appears the majority of the moisture will fall in the form of some chilly showers with the best chances being across our Southern Kentucky counties closer to the passing area of low pressure. The rest of the weekend looks dry and tranquil with temperatures close to average for early January, topping out in the 40s.