Lots of wind as April blows into Central and Eastern Kentucky
After a few strong storms into the early hours of Saturday, another high wind event with gusts over 50 miles per hour on the table.
It was a wet and breezy finish to March across Central and Eastern Kentucky with several rounds of moderate to heavy rain moving through the region. With a strong storm system moving into the Ohio Valley during the early hours of Saturday, the potential exists for some severe weather in our area. The Storm Prediction Center has much of Central Kentucky in an Enhanced Risk (Level 3 out of 5) with the threat ramping down to Level 2 and eventually Level 1 in far Eastern Kentucky. Right now it appears a squall line or broken line of severe storms will arrive in the Bluegrass after Midnight with the best chance for damaging winds and isolated tornadoes along and west of I-75. No matter where you are in the viewing area, this event will take place AT NIGHT and HEADING INTO A WEEKEND when many people aren’t staying weather aware, so make sure you have a way to get any potential warnings. It’s better to be over prepared than under-prepared.
Once the storm threat ends, we have another strong wind event on the way for Saturday…and that’s no April Fools joke! As the main low strengthens over the Great Lakes, our wind gusts could be 50 to 55+ mile per hour through the afternoon, which should produce some scattered power outages and some tree damage. This is pretty comparable to what we have seen with many of the past wind events over the last few months. A Wind Advisory is out until 5pm on Saturday for Central Kentucky with a High Wind Warning for Eastern Kentucky until 6pm so be careful if you are out and about. Winds will diminish as temperatures fall off through Saturday evening.
The big story next week will be a significant warm-up as temperatures surge into the mid to upper 70s across Central and Eastern Kentucky. A few isolated storms are possible Monday and Tuesday with the best chance for organized storms coming on Wednesday, which could be strong to severe given all the warmth and moisture expected to be in place. Stay tuned for that!
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
FRIDAY NIGHT: Windy with rain and storms, some strong. Lows in the upper-50s.
SATURDAY: Very windy, falling temperatures with a few sprinkles late. Highs in the low-60s.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Winds diminish, clear and colder. Lows in the low-30s.
