Shifting back into a January-like feel this weekend

After a wet start to Friday with gusty showers and a few rumbles of thunder across Central and Eastern Kentucky, the unseasonably mild air we’ve enjoyed the last several days tried to hang on a bit longer as the rain wound down for the time being. It was another breezy day with southwest wind at 10 to 20 miles per hour, occasionally gusting over 30 mph at times. This helped push afternoon highs back in the mid to upper 60s, with a few spots like Lexington getting very close to record high temperatures for Friday! All of this despite some scattered clouds hanging around as a weak frontal boundary moved east across the commonwealth. Unfortunately the spring-like air won’t be sticking around into the upcoming weekend.

A secondary low to our southwest will rotate into the area as another cold front follows behind it from the west into early Saturday so look for more scattered showers as we begin the weekend. The good news is the low end strong storm threat looks to have diminished with the best chances now well to our south along the Gulf Coast. The shower activity will be hit and miss but take the rain gear along to be on the safe side if you have plans Saturday with some wet weather on the table. While temperatures will stay above average for early January, it will be a cooler day compared to what we’ve enjoyed lately with highs topping out in the low to mid-50s early in the afternoon before the cold front moves through and readings drop back into the 40s as the sun goes down.

It will be a dose of reality for the second half of the weekend as much colder air returns to the commonwealth. A brisk northwest wind will bring that familiar winter feel to the air as afternoon highs struggle to reach the low to mid-30s. Add in 10 to 15 mile per hour winds with higher gusts and our “feel-like” temperatures should be more in the upper teens/low 20s range so the heavier coats will come in handy. A weak wave of energy rotating through the Ohio Valley should be enough to squeeze out a few light snow showers or flurries but it doesn’t appear these will have much of an impact. High pressure will build in from the southwest to begin next week so the cold will relax out pretty quickly. With some sunshine returning on Monday and a bit of a return flow, afternoon highs should recover a solid 10 degrees compared to Sunday with most locations topping out in the low to mid-40s.

Another clipper system should be diving to the southeast into the mid part of next week. Tuesday should be another nice January day with a mix of clouds and sunshine and temperatures slightly milder into the upper 40s and low 50s. The aforementioned clipper system will arrive on Wednesday with scattered rain showers possible along with it, although some of the data has been hinting about colder air behind the boundary catching up to the moisture, which would mix in a few snow showers so that’s something to monitor into next week. Colder air should follow suit for late next week with a few flurries or snow showers on tap Thursday as afternoon highs back down into the low to mid-30s.