A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for all of south-central Kentucky until 12pm Monday.
Heavy rain has fallen throughout south-central Kentucky today, some areas even had minor flooding. As expected, temperatures have now dipped below freezing and precipitation has now transitioned to a mixture of sleet and freezing rain.
What is known as isentropic lifting is one of the prime lifting mechanisms leading to our extended period of precipitation. There is also a wave of low pressure moving northeast along a cold frontal boundary and an upper level low which will contribute to the precipitation.
Radar analysis at ~9pm Sunday
Precipitation will first be a continued mixture of sleet and freezing rain until a transition to snow during the overnight/early Monday morning hours. Precipitation may be heavy at times, possibly accompanied with thunder and lightning. Temperatures will fall to near 20 by Monday morning.
This looks to be a significant winter storm for all of south-central Kentucky. Ice accretion from freezing rain could range from 0.25″-0.75″ and sleet/snow totals will generally be in the 3-6 inch range though some areas could receive more, especially north along the Western Kentucky Parkway.
Forecast outlook from the NWS Louisville
Significant impacts from the storm are expected which could include downed tree limbs and power lines, power outages, and very hazardous travel conditions. In fact, numerous slick roads have already been reported as of 8:30 pm Sunday evening.
Snow will taper off around midday for most of the mid-south with mostly cloudy skies and a few scattered flurries remaining through the afternoon. It will stay cold with a daytime high of only 27.
Tuesday night, skies will begin to clear allowing temperatures to dive into the single digits.
I’ll have more on the rest of the week’s outlook tomorrow after the passage of the winter storm. Stay safe everyone.
