WKU Meteorology

Less than a week after a major ice storm devastated a large swath of the central United States with ice, snow and flooding rains, another even more powerful storm appears to be on the way. In fact, computer models suggest this new storm could rival some of the more famous “superstorms” of recent decades. The Groundhog Day Superstorm has the potential to produce 20+ inches of snow over the Appalachians, severe weather across the Gulf Coast, and flooding rains along the East Coast; however, the most notable impact may be the wind of 50+ mph that could batter parts of the Great Lakes region and southeast Canada. But what can Kentucky expect from this storm? Continue reading →

This is shaping up to be a major ice storm for south-central Kentucky Monday night into Tuesday. There could be widespread power outages and downed power lines from ice-covered tree limbs. I would also expect widespread school cancellations (including WKU) since this has the potential to be devastating. Continue reading →

The GFS ensembles and ECMWF continue to show the westward trend in the mean longwave trough over the United States. This suggests at least a break in the recent cold NW flow pattern that Kentucky has been in since mid-November. Some model solutions hint at a SW flow that would mean a return to the 50s and 60s while others show more of a cool zonal flow that would keep temperatures near seasonal averages. I’ll have more on this idea this weekend.

After nearly a month of below normal temperatures across the Mid-South we are finally looking at the first truly big winter storm of the season. Unfortunately for those who love snow, most of Kentucky will be on wrong side of the rain-snow line for next weeks storm. Continue reading →

The early taste of winter will continue through at least the first week of December. In fact, some of the longer range models suggest the below normal temperatures will continue through Christmas. While we have seen lots of cold recently, we haven’t seen much in the way of precipitation. That should change by early December when a number of factors should come together to produce a major winter storm. Continue reading →

An unsettled week of weather is in store for the Mid-South. None of the storms moving through this week will be strong but precipitation is possible every day through the weekend, including the possibility for the earliest snow since 1993. Continue reading →

A group of climate researchers at Northern Illinois University have published a paper that shows that the Mid-South has the greatest percentage of nocturnal tornadoes in the United States. Over 40% of all tornadoes that affect Kentucky and Tennessee occur between the hours of midnight and dawn. These nocturnal tornadoes are 2.5 times more likely to be fatal than tornadoes that occur at other times. A link to a press release of the article can be found here.

The Mid-South is experiencing the first taste of winter today as arctic has spread across the region. Wind chills are barely above freezing across the Bluegrass as light rain is falling. There may even be some sleet or flurries later tonight. Lake effect snow will occur all across the Great Lakes as the arctic air moves across the relatively warmer lake water. The good news is this arctic blast will quickly come to an end and temperatures will be warmer than normal by the end of the work week. Continue reading →