Friday Afternoon Update

Ryan Reynolds heard about the Ice Age arriving early next week…

This Afternoon – Sunny & COLD – High 28˚ / Tonight – Clear – Low 20˚

High pressure has given us nothing but sunshine today, and that will continue to be the story through the afternoon.  Light, northerly winds will keep wind chills in the teens.  Clear and quiet will be the story for the overnight.  Here’s a look at current surface conditions.  High pressure is in complete control:

Sat – Partly Sunny – High 41˚ / Sat Night – Scat’d Wintry Mix – Low 32˚

Winds will shift from out of the south, which will escort temperatures into the 40s under sunny skies.  A low pressure system will evolve to our northwest, and track eastward into Canada.  This system will stretch a boundary southwest through the Ohio Valley and Missouri, which will propagate our way.

As this boundary approaches, a scattered wintry mix is expected late Saturday night, as temps flirt with the freezing threshold of 32˚.  Little to no accumulation is expected.

Sun – Rain & Snow Likely – High 38˚ / Sun Night – Scat’d Snow Showers – Low 0˚

**Winter Storm Watch for Butler, Logan, Grayson & Ohio County from 5am – 11pm Sunday**

Sunday is when the real fun will kick in.  Warmer air will once again work into south central Kentucky, causing precip to transition to all rain through mid morning.  A low pressure system along the cold front will evolve and propagate northeast over the Tennessee/Kentucky border.  As this weather maker surges to our east Sunday afternoon, temperatures will come crashing down, much like we experienced Thursday.

The only difference with this system?  MUCH colder air is expected behind it, along with more snow.  You can view the low’s expected track, along with precipitation transition, on the GFS model loop provided.  It is valid from 12am Sunday – 12am Monday in 6 hour increments:

We are still a few days out, however, I’ll go ahead and make an early call on accumulations.  The recent trending has taken the low pressure system further southeast, which means a better opportunity at seeing accumulations on the ground across south central Kentucky.  At the moment, I feel comfortable saying that Bowling Green and surrounding areas could receive 1-3+” on the ground.

Those located further north and west could see up to 2-5+” of the white stuff.  EVERYONE will NOT see this much snow…amounts will vary by location.  These amounts will more than likely alter as the latest data is released.  I’ll continue to keep you updated as needed.

It is worth noting that wind gusts could exceed 30+mph on Sunday afternoon.  Combine this with moderate snow and we’ll run into some serious visibility issues to add to the hazardous traveling conditions.  Lows on Sunday night could fall to subzero!  Be prepared ahead of time, and if you have pets that you can please bring indoors, do so!

Our big cold snap will stick around through the early part of next week.  Monday’s highs look to be limited to the single digits…that is not a lie.  We could be looking at our coldest day since January of 1994!  Check out the following loop and watch temperatures plummet from 12am Sunday – 6am Monday.  Subzero readings…SAY WHAAA???:

Get out the gloves, scarfs, winter hats, dwarf beards and seal boots.  You’re gonna need ’em!

That’s all I’ve got.  You know the routine…stay in touch with me @Wx_Or_Not for more frequent information.  If you have questions, photos, reports, etc. don’t hesitate to hit me up.  Enjoy the weekend, folks.  It looks like it’s going to be a wild ride!