Weekend Forecast/Look at the Week Ahead

 Saturday 9 Dec
KY Highs: Low-mid 30's
KY Lows: Around 20º, Upper teens in usual cold spots/E KY
Light Snow Showers Central/East KY, 1/2" psbl along/near I-64 (Timing: Late AM-PM)
Gusty Winds up to 30mph

Sunday 10 Dec
Highs: Upper 30's North/Low 40's South
Lows: Mid-Upper 20's
Partly Cloudy
W/SW Wind at 10-15mph


 Good Saturday morning everyone! I'm excited about the opportunity to write these posts and hope you enjoy them. I'm so excited that I'm actually doing this forecast while riding in the car this morning.
  First thing, as you know it is cold cold cold. Observations are in the low 20's across the state and I've got a decent snow shower in Elizabethtown right now.

Greatest chances for accumulating snow looks to be in eastern KY, along and near I-64, where a 1/2" may be possible. Elsewhere, trace amounts are expected at most. Dry air is the main limiting factor for more snowfall but should it seem that flurries are more efficient than expected then 3/4" could occur in eastern KY.

  Also worth noting, a very amplified jet stream is over the eastern half of the U.S. with a speed max (core of stronger flow) over WI/MN at 12z (6am CST). As this streak and the wave it is associated with pivot around the parent trough and into the Ohio Valley gusty winds should occur as a response. Upstream observations and model guidance suggest gusts around 20-25mph and I think 30mph gusts are possible accounting for momentum transfer to the surface. As this wave passes this afternoon/evening snow showers/flurries will exit from W-E. Temps will drop to around 20º for overnight loss but I think usual cold spots will see some temps in the 10's.
  Sunday looks to be dry with partly cloudy skies across the region as Saturday's system exits the area. Winds will be from a more southerly direction so that should help get temps up a little, particularly in central & southern KY where I think we'll hit the 40's. Lows Sunday night should be only a few degrees warmer than Saturday night.

A series of waves are expected to pass throughout next week. Monday could bring a little relief from the frigid cold but only briefly. A short-lived warm air advection regime looks likely ahead of our next possible system and I think we could see temps reach 50 Monday afternoon. By Tuesday I think our next clipper will pass and bring another chance for snow showers. Temps will bottoms back out fluctuating between highs in the 30's and lows in the 10's-20's throughout the week. Data is showing precip/snow chances increasing by next weekend as yet another clipper crosses the region so we'll cover that in more detail soon.
  Thank you very much and I'll be back on soon. Feel free to contact me with any questions. Also, keep checking back as I'll be adding new features regularly.
DKK