Rain and snow this weekend ahead of more Arctic air

It was a nice finish to the week weather-wise across Central and Eastern Kentucky especially given the cold and active pattern we’ve seen so far in January. A quick shot of high pressure allowed for some sunshine Friday and a south wind pushed more moderate air back into the area. Afternoon highs climbed into the mid to upper 40s with even a few low 50s across Southern Kentucky. It felt pretty good if you were out and about given all the cold air around lately and hopefully you enjoyed it as active weather is set to return this weekend along with more Arctic air on the horizon.

Our next storm system will move in from the west into early Saturday bringing another round of unsettled weather to the area. A breezy south wind will bring plenty of moisture up from the Gulf but will also keep our temperatures from dropping too much so we are looking at a chilly rain to begin the event with temperatures in the upper 30s to begin the day. As the cold front moves in Saturday afternoon, temperatures will begin to take a tumble so look for highs to be early in the day, topping out in the low 40s before falling through the 30s by sunset. As the colder air catches up to the moisture snow will mix in with the rain and eventually change over to all snow into Saturday evening.

The combination of Arctic air, a wave of low pressure to our southeast and enough moisture wrapping back into the area will set up Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky for some light accumulating snow Saturday night and through Sunday. Right now a fluffy 2″-4″ snow will be possible for areas east and southeast of Lexington with around a 1″-2″ snow here in the Bluegrass. It will be much colder on Sunday with highs only in the mid-20s and a breezy northwest wind making it feel even colder than that so do expect wind chills to come into play to close out the weekend. You’ll need to watch out for some slick and snow covered roadways potentially during the second half of the weekend so use caution.

The big story into the King holiday and early next week will be yet another Arctic blast that will take hold of much of the eastern part of the country including the Ohio Valley. We’ll start out MLK Day in the single digits with wind chills below zero at times so you’ll need to bundle up and protect any exposed skin if you are outside for any length of time. Afternoon highs will struggle into the mid teens and this pattern will stay locked into the area through Tuesday and into Wednesday morning so prepare ahead of time for some very cold air in place for a few days. Some moderation in temperatures is expected later next week with highs creep back to around freezing by Thursday. A weak wave of energy could provide a few flurries by next Friday but there doesn’t look to be anything major as far as storm systems during that window.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
FRIDAY NIGHT: Breezy with rain moving in. Lows in the upper-30s.
SATURDAY: Morning rain changing to snow late, falling P.M. temperatures. Early highs in the low-40s.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Snow showers and much colder. Lows in the mid-20s.