Strong winds diminish with quiet weather to end the week
The beginning of the weekend looks dry but an upper low may bring some snow to far southeastern Kentucky on Sunday
It was a wild day of windy weather Thursday across Central and Eastern Kentucky as winds gusted over 60 miles per hour at times, especially in Central Kentucky with the remainder of the area seeing widespread 50 + mile per hour gusts. Of course this created a lot of issues with trees and power lines coming down so there was a lot to clean-up. What caused the overachieving wind gusts was the appearance of the sun in the early afternoon just ahead of the surface front. The sun heated the surface and mixed the air even more (highs surged into the low 70s, setting a record high here in Lexington) and this allowed the wind gusts to be even stronger than anticipated! Check out some of the reported wind gusts below!
It will be much more tranquil to end the week on Friday as cooler air filters in and winds diminish behind the departing system. Expect afternoon highs into the upper 40s under a mix of clouds and sunshine with a few spots touching 50 degrees down south. Winds may be breezy at times, but nothing abnormal compared to what we dealt with Thursday.
I mentioned yesterday that some of the data was trying to push a little wintry weather into far Southeastern Kentucky on Sunday as an upper low spins just to our southeast. Much of the model data is lining up with this scenario so Sunday should be all about location. Along the Kentucky/Virginia border in the higher elevations we could see some accumulating snow and highs only in the low to mid-30s with a sharp cut-off to the precipitation the farther northwest you go. Here in Lexington and the Bluegrass we may end up being dry with highs in the low and mid-40s. Of course any adjustment to the track of that upper low could bring some wintry weather into play across Central Kentucky. Stay tuned.
Heading toward Valentine’s Day next week, a couple of storm system look to move through the area so our unsettled weather pattern will be sticking around. Our best chances for rain will be late Tuesday and into early Wednesday, followed by another round of rain by next Thursday. Our roller coaster ride of temperatures should roll on as afternoon highs reach the mid-60s!
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
THURSDAY NIGHT: Breezy and colder, winds diminish. Lows in the upper 30s.
FRIDAY: Partly sunny, less wind. Highs in the upper 40s.
FRIDAY NIGHT: A few clouds and cold. Lows in the mid-20s.
