at 4:04 AM by Landon Hampton

Morning Commute A Concern

Real Time Bowling Green Weather Radar:

Today 12/18 – AM Wintry Mix; Cold, Cloudy – High 37° / Tonight – Partly Cloudy – Low 27°

We’re waking up to a mix of sleet and snow across the region this morning.  Right now it appears that accumulations, if any, will remain minor due to the light nature of the precipitation (coating of slush at best). We’ve already received reports of accumulations on elevated surfaces.

Although we may not receive much accumulation, slick spots will be inevitable during the morning commute across south central Kentucky.  We’ve already received reports of accidents this morning.  The vast majority of problems seem to be resulting from icy bridges and overpasses.

Sleet initially started to fall shortly after 2am this morning, and has been hit & miss ever since.  Again…with temps remaining below freezing until mid morning, please exercise caution on the early commute.  Below is a simulated radar image from the HRRR model.  It shows pockets of mixed precipitation still hanging around at 7am.

HRRR Simulated Radar Valid 7am - via weatherbell.com
HRRR Simulated Radar Valid 7am – weatherbell.com

Temperatures are expected to rise above freezing as we progress through the morning hours, which will help minimize any significant travel impacts as the day wears on.

We’ll be stuck with clouds for most of the day and highs will likely only make it to around the 37° mark.  We can’t rule out a stray snow shower or two moving through this afternoon.  With temps above freezing, impacts will be non-existent.

Clouds should move out of the region tonight as lows drop to around 27° across the region.

Friday 12/19 – Partly Cloudy- High 40° / Fri Night – Partly Cloudy – Low 34°

Friday should bring a calmer forecast to the region. With very little lift in the atmosphere, we can expect to see only partly cloudy skies throughout the day. Temperatures will remain on the chilly side as we’ll only see highs reach the lower 40s across the region.

Partly cloudy skies will continue during the overnight hours with lows in the mid 30s.

Saturday 12/20 – Mostly Cloudy; Isolated Rain/Snow Showers – High 41° / Sat Night – Mostly Clear – Low 30°

The models have trended much further south in regard to the weekend storm system. With this being the case, I almost completely ruled out precipitation chances for Saturday. However, the European model still brings a bit of moisture to the north, which would be enough to spit some snowflakes and rain showers. Forecasters be like…

h/t reactiongifs.com
h/t reactiongifs.com

Confidence in this scenario is pretty low, so let’s not even talk accumulations. All the models are consistent with drying us out in the afternoon hours. Thus, those mostly cloudy skies may break up a bit as the precipitation comes to an end.

Saturday night will bring mostly clear skies to the region with lows nearing 30° once more.

That should wrap up this forecast post. Be sure to follow @WxOrNotBG and @WarrenCountyWX for the latest Bowling Green weather information.