WKU Meteorology

The snowstorm that went to our south this past weekend definitely exceeded all expectations. The powerful upper level low that triggered the snowstorm produced convective banding which led to thundersnow and incredible accumulations over western TN. A map of the snowfall accumulations can be seen here. Here is another story about the missed storm.

A complex two-part storm system will bring snow to the Deep South this weekend. Believe it or not, place like northeastern MS, northern AL, and much of the Carolinas could receive a couple of inches of snow while most of Kentucky gets a light coating. There is a good chance that places like Louisville and southern Indiana get shut out of this storm completely. Continue reading →

The long-range pattern looks to be somewhat dull as a mean zonal flow should keep things quiet and right around normal in the Mid-South. Continue reading →

Check out the 18z run of the NAM if you want to see a nice fantasy snowstorm for the Mid-South. This model is showing a 6-10″ snowstorm for parts of western TN, south-central KY, and northern MS. Don’t hold your breath waiting for this one. Continue reading →

The clipper that will move through the Mid-South early this weekend will not be a big snow producer for south-central KY, although taken at face value, some of the model outputs suggest that it could. Continue reading →

Right before noon at Tuesday I was outside and noticed a light snow/graupel mix that came down for about five minutes. At around 3:00 pm, there was an additional brief burst of snow and sleet. While it is not unusual to get wintry weather in Bowling Green in February, what made this a rare event was that the temperature at the time of the snow was 48 degrees!! So how does this happen? Continue reading →

Anytime you get a stretch of several days in a row of 60+ weather during winter you have to be concerned about severe weather when the cold air returns. For south-central KY, it looks like the worst of the severe weather will occur to the south and west of the region. Continue reading →

In 24 hrs the models went from an historic superstorm over the Appalachians to a run-of-the-mill nor’easter. The models are now all in agreement that the phasing of the jet streams will occur well east of the region, which means this storm will mainly go out to sea. Kentucky may get some light snow Sunday night into Monday morning with the arctic front but minimal accumulations. There may be some light snow showers when the trough swings through midweek. It is amazing to me how much of the meteorological community (including myself) jumped onto the Appalachian superstorm idea Wednesday/Thursday just to see the rug pulled out from underneath. This reminds me of what it feels like to use models to forecast snowstorms for KY.