Quick thaw from the December Arctic cold

It was a bitterly cold start to this final week of the fall season (yes we are still there with the Winter Solstice on the horizon this weekend with morning temperatures dipping down into the low to mid single digits across much of Central and Eastern Kentucky. A few spots managed to get below zero for a brief period of time and even a light breeze put the “feel-like” temps in the -5 to -10 degree range. The good news is that we saw plenty of sunshine as the Arctic high slid to the east allowing temperatures to moderate back into the upper 20s to around 30 degrees in the Bluegrass with more low to mid-30s down south where the ground was bare and didn’t have a light snowpack to fight through. Even though these readings are a good 10 to 15 degrees plus below average for mid-December, it was the first step to a quick recovery in our temperatures.

Look for more quiet weather into Tuesday with sunshine and a southwest breeze helping to moderate our temperatures nicely. It will be “cold” again early Tuesday, but should feel much better compared to the weekend deep freeze as we start out in the upper teens and low 20s. The combination of the sun and the wind will help eat up a lot of the leftover snowpack while afternoon highs push all the way back into the low to mid-40s! That’s quite a jump over a short period of time and the upward trend will continue into the mid-week.

Our next storm system will be gearing up across the upper Midwest on Wednesday so the persistent southwest wind will begin to increase in strength a little more, pushing even milder air into the commonwealth. Even with a mix of clouds and sunshine, afternoon highs should roll into the upper 40s here in Central Kentucky with low 50s down south. There is a small chance of a passing shower across Southern Kentucky as a weak wave of energy slides by but overall it should be dry. The main system will arrive with plenty of wind and mild air on Thursday as temperatures surge back into the mid to upper 50s, a solid 10 degrees above average for this time of the year. Winds will gust over 30 miles per hour at times and look for an increasing chance of showers and a few rumbles of thunder throughout the day.

It looks to be a classic case of brief colder air attempting to catch up to the moisture on Friday so a few snow showers or flurries may be possible Friday morning but the bigger story will be a reminder that we are in the holiday season. Afternoon highs may struggle to reach the mid-30s (which is a walk in the park compared to what we’ve seen these last few days) as skies clear and some sunshine returns to close out the week. The roller coaster ride of temperatures rolls along this weekend as we’ll see a nice jump back into the low to mid-50s as a secondary front digs in from the northwest as we kick off the weekend. Winter officially arrives at 10:03 AM Sunday morning but it will be more of a fall-like day with a few passing showers and afternoon highs either side of the 50 degree mark as the cold air stays away.