Winter Storm to Continue Across Southern Kentucky

Bowling Green Weather Real Time Radar:


**WINTER STORM UPDATE**

Reminder: A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 12 AM Tuesday for Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Logan, Simpson and Warren County

Today 2/15 – AM Heavy Snow; PM Light Snow – High 26° / Tonight – Flurries – Low 12° 

6am 19°– 9am 21˚ – 12pm 24˚ – 3pm 26˚ – 6pm 23˚

It is a busy weather morning today as a significant winter storm is currently impacting the region. Around three inches of snow has already fallen across southern Kentucky this morning with much more on the way.

An area of low pressure currently centered in northern Louisiana continues to pull moisture into the Tennessee Valley and a large shield of precipitation is moving nearly west to east across the area. Temperatures are well below freezing, so areas north of the KY/TN border are seeing all snow. Track this morning’s precipitation using the real-time radar above.

Snowfall will really start to ramp up over the next hour or two and snowfall rates of 1-1.5″ per hour will be possible across southern Kentucky. The SPC has included the region in an area of concern for moderate to heavy snowfall over the next several hours.

mcd0067
Courtesy: SPC

Travel will become nearly impossible this morning as snow continues to accumulate. The heaviest snowfall will occur from 7am to noon as precipitation banding increases. High temperatures will remain in the 20s and points north of the KY/TN border will see all snow although a few sleet pellets could mix in later today if we see warm air to our south nose into the region.

Snowfall intensity will decrease this afternoon and light snow is expected to continue until this evening. Model guidance is in good agreement that precipitation will come to an end around sunset as a cold front pushes east across the state.

winterstorm
06Z 4km NAM simulated reflectivity valid from 6am to 6pm CST today (Courtesy: College of Dupage)

An additional 5-10″ of snow is expected today with total accumulations of 8-14″ possible by the time the storm is all said and done. The highest snow totals will occur in locations that see precipitation banding.

As precipitation shifts east overnight, skies will become mostly cloudy and a few flurries will be possible. Winds will turn to the northwest as temperatures will dip into the lower teens.

Tuesday 2/16 – Mostly Cloudy; PM Flurries – High 26° / Tue Night – Mostly Cloudy; Iso’d Snow Showers; Cold – Low

Today’s winter storm will leave a very cold air mass in its wake across the region. As a result, we will have to deal with very chilly temperatures this week. A deep upper-level trough will begin to center itself over Kentucky by tomorrow evening and this trough will help to lock the cold air in place.

trough
06Z GFS 300mb heights and winds valid at 3pm CST Tuesday (Courtesy: Twisterdata)

Skies are expected to be partly cloudy by tomorrow morning and we could see a few peeks of sunshine before noon. The sun won’t do much in the way of helping to melt any snow, as high temperatures will only reach the middle 20s tomorrow.

Cloud cover will begin to increase tomorrow afternoon as the first of several small shortwaves rotate around the trough. This shortwave will provide enough lift in the atmosphere to produce a few flurries tomorrow night.

Precipitation will be light, but we could see another dusting of snowfall  tomorrow night. Check out what the latest run of the NAM model thinks the radar will look light tomorrow night:

tuesdayradar
06Z 4km NAM simulated reflectivity valid from 9pm to 6am CST tomorrow night (Courtesy: College of Dupage)

Despite mostly cloudy skies overnight, temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits overnight thanks to the influence of our snow cover. Low temperatures will drop into the lower teens.

Wednesday 2/17 – Mostly Cloudy; Windy; Iso’d Snow Showers – High 16° / Wed Night – Partly Cloudy; Frigid – Low -9°

The upper-level trough will remain centered over our region which means another very cold day is on tap. Any flurries around the region at daybreak will quickly end and we can expect mostly cloudy skies throughout the morning.

Westerly surface winds will ramp up and we can expect sustained wind speeds of 15-25 mph during the afternoon. Combine these winds with high temperatures in the teens and wind chill values will range from -5° to 10º F.

Another shortwave will rotate through the trough on Wednesday and the shortwave will bring another chance of isolated snow showers to southern Kentucky. Once again, precipitation amounts will be light and accumulations ranging from a dusting to 0.5″ are expected.

Snow showers will come to an end by Wednesday evening and skies will become partly cloudy. Record cold is expected overnight as low temperatures drop below zero and reach as low as -10º F.  Dangerous wind chill values will be running anywhere from -15º to -25º F. That is some serious cold.

windchill

That’s all I’ve got for this morning, keep up with @WxOrNotBG and @WarrenCountyWX on Twitter for real-time weather updates throughout the winter storm.