A brief “warm-up” heading into the weekend
We saw a few scattered snow squalls that covered the ground in spots Thursday but dry weather and moderating temperatures are on the way.
It was a cloudy, breezy and cold Thursday across Central and Eastern Kentucky with temperatures hanging into the mid and upper 30s. With some moisture and energy rotating through the region we saw a few heavier bursts of snow showers and squalls in a few locations, even enough to reduce visibility and cover the roadways very quickly. One example was on I-75 in Richmond where a viewer experienced clear and dry roadways at mile marker 83, then a mere 4 miles up the road at mile marker 87, it was totally whiteout conditions and snow covered roads. Check it out!
Heading into Friday we’ll do the ole squeeze play with high pressure to our south and a fast moving system moving through the Great Lakes. This will put the commonwealth in between the two so it appears the farther south you go, the more sunshine you’ll see while up north we should be looking at mostly cloudy skies. Despite a cold start in the mid-20s, a strong southwest wind at 15 to 20 miles per hour will help push afternoon highs into the mid-40s, which is a few degrees above average for late January.
The final weekend of the month should start out on a fairly pleasant note as high pressure settles to our southeast and milder air continues to be pushed into the area. With some sunshine expected, afternoon highs may surge into the low to mid-50s, so you’ll want to take advantage of the pleasant conditions. It should be another 50/50 weekend with the second half on Sunday being damp and dreary as a cold front moves into the region. Expect just plain rain with highs in the mid to upper 40s.
Our active weather pattern will hold serve into next week as a series of low pressure systems slide into the area from the southwest. As is usually the case, the exact track of the low will be the big determining factor in what type of precipitation falls, either frozen or liquid. At this point it appears we may have enough cold air for some snow on Tuesday based on the model trend this far out, but that is likely to change as we draw closer to that window. The bottom line is that the potential exists for more wintry weather chances here in Central and Eastern Kentucky as we welcome February into the middle of next week.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy, breezy and cold. Lows in the mid-20s.
FRIDAY: Scattered clouds and breezy. Highs in the mid-40s.
FRIDAY NIGHT: More clouds and wind. Lows in the low-30s.
