Light snow chance back in play as the cold air remains

More Arctic air will roll in to close out January

1 hour ago

T.G. Shuck,

Our extended stretch of unseasonably cold temperatures across Central and Eastern Kentucky remained in place on Thursday and it looks like we’ll stay locked into this pattern as we close out the month of January into the weekend. Temperatures dipped into the single digits for early morning lows in many locations with a few low teens sprinkled in here and there. Clouds were the big determining factor for temperatures not dropping off as much and fortunately we didn’t have any significant wind chills to deal with thanks to light winds. Mid to high level clouds streamed in ahead of a wave of energy approaching from the northwest as afternoon highs managed to reach the low to mid-20s.

Closing out what has been a frigid week on Friday, the aforementioned wave of energy will slide in from the northwest as a stronger wave of low pressure develops down to our south. The northern wave should bring some dry, fluffy light snow to the area and bringing some light snow accumulations into play. Right now it looks to be a coating to around 1″ across the Bluegrass region with a 1″-2″ snow possible across Southern and Southeastern Kentucky through Friday and lingering into Saturday in the east. This should be enough snow to create some minor travel impacts and cover the roads possibly once again…just as road crews have worked all week to get them cleared from last weekend’s winter storm. A Winter Weather Advisory is out for Southern and Southeastern Kentucky from Friday evening through Saturday morning. While afternoon highs Friday should manage to reach the low 20s once again, one last push of Arctic air will pour into the region by Friday night so look for temperatures to drop through the afternoon hours and keep those heavy winter jackets handy.

It should be a fitting final day of January on Saturday with yet another frigid day on tap across Central and Eastern Kentucky. After starting the day with temperatures in the low to mid-range single digits with wind chills around -5° to -15°, don’t expect much of a “warm-up” as we progress through the day. Because of the low wind chills expected early Saturday, a Cold Weather Advisory is out for the Bluegrass region down into Southern Kentucky from 1AM to 1 PM on Saturday. The stout north wind will push very cold air into the commonwealth so afternoon highs will struggle to get back into the low and mid-teens for afternoon highs. The area of low pressure that’s expected to strengthen off the Carolina coast could potentially through some organized snow showers into far Eastern Kentucky but it looks like the majority of the snow will be to our east. With clouds linger lingering and the Arctic air-mass around, look for a few flurries or light snow showers from time to time. Our coldest morning of the stretch may now be Sunday morning as temperatures make a run toward 0 degrees to begin the day. We’ll kick off February on a dry and cold note with afternoon highs managing to recover into the upper teens and low 20s despite the frigid start.

Rolling into Groundhog Day on Monday, the beat goes on with a repeat performance of very cold morning lows in the upper single digits and low teens. A fast moving clipper system will dive in from the northwest, bringing another chance of light snow showers to the area. A southwest wind should help push afternoon highs back into the upper 20s (with low 30s down south) so it will be a nice recovery in temperatures and put us back around the freezing mark. Even in the wake of the departing wave, temperatures on Tuesday should still reach the low and mid-30s. Another system will head our way for the mid-week and with temperatures right on the line it appears we are looking at the potential of a light wintry mix of rain and snow beginning Tuesday night and carrying into Wednesday. Per usual the exact track and timing of the system will be the determining factor as to precipitation type so we’ll monitor that closely.