WKU Meteorology

Flash Flood Warnings continue for several rivers in our region. Warnings for the Green River at Woodbury and at Rochester continue until Monday at 12:20 AM CST. Here is a look at the river gauges for those two spots.

Flooding at Woodbury and at Rochester is expected to stay within the minor range. This means that low laying fields, properties, or roads along the Green River at these two locations could experience some minor flooding until late Monday evening as the river settles back below flood stage.

Setup:

A cold polar airmass descends on the region for the start to your weekend bringing much cooler temperatures than what we started with at the beginning of the week. That airmass moves out of the region by Sunday, placing us in the return flow region of the high pressure. This will warm our temperatures slightly but also will bring about our next chance of rain as well. Rain showers will start shortly after daybreak on Sunday, and will be on the increase throughout the day. Prior to the onset of the rain on Sunday temperatures could cause a brief period of glaze to form on elevated or metal surfaces. The main threat for this looks brief and sets up to the west of I-65. Warm air aloft will then quickly transition the precipitation type to all rain. Another brief period of glaze could be possible for the far northern counties as the main shield of rain moves out. But this depends on several factors including how much moisture remains and what will the temperatures be around that time? Unsettled weather continues into the start of the workweek.

Forecast:

Tonight- Lows in the 20s under Partly Cloudy skies.

Saturday- Sunny, Highs in the low 40s with windchills in the teens possible.

Saturday Night- Lows hover around 30 degrees with increasing clouds ahead of the next system.

Rain showers will move out of the area within the next hour or two, with cold air filtering into the region during the night time hours with morning lows on Friday in the lower 20s. Temperatures behind the cold front will drop rapidly as high pressure moves into the area leaving us with clear skies all day on Friday. Highs on Friday will top out in the lower-to-middle 30s.

Thanks to the mostly clear skies and light winds, temperatures will drop to right around 16 degrees Friday night into Saturday Morning. With high pressure over the region, Saturday will be similar to Friday but with slightly warmer temperatures. Temperatures on Saturday will struggle to reach the 40 degrees mark. Late in the day on Saturday and heading into the overnight hours, the region will experience a shift in the winds that will be coming in from the southeast. Cloud cover will move into the area during the overnight hours on Saturday into Sunday morning thanks to a disturbance that will swing through the Midwest. As the storm system moves into the Ohio River Valley, precipitation will break out across the area during the morning hours on Sunday. The temperature on Sunday will top out around 45 degrees.

An active weather pattern will be expected during the first half of next week as a storm system moves back into the region. Visit White Squirrel WX or WKU Meteorology Blog for further updates.

Friday: Sunny skies, chilly with temperatures right around 34 degrees.

Friday Night: Clear skies, chilly with a low of 17 degrees.

Saturday: Mostly sunny with a high of 40 degrees, winds will be light.

Sunday: Rain after 8am with cloudy skies. High near 45 degrees. 

Please make sure you step outside for a bit today because it is nice! Right now we have a stationary front laying on top of us which will help that warm weather stay with us for the next couple of days. There are quit a few clouds in the sky right now, but the sun still has plenty of room to shine through!

There are still a few pop up showers that could make their way into the area. Temperatures today have skirted right around 70. This unfortunately is not something that will last as will be felt Friday. We will see rain chances increase into tonight and especially into tomorrow when thunderstorms are possible. With the rain this week do keep an eye on the potential for flash flooding. Tomorrow and Thursday seem the most likely for any flash flooding, so be careful and don’t drive into any high waters. Temperatures will hit a high around 70 again tomorrow and Thursday. A cold front on the surface will bring the forcing necessary for a thunderstorm. On the backside of that cold front will be chilly temperatures for Friday.

• Summary
  • Tuesday:
    • High: 71
    • Low:60
    • Precipitation: A few showers could still be seen especially going into later tonight.
  • Wednesday:
    • High:69
    • Low:62
    • Precipitation: Showers along with a chance for some storms
  • Thursday:
    • High:71
    • Low:25
    • Precipitation: Some showers with a better chance for storms. Keep an eye out for flash flooding!

Stay safe and have a good week everyone! Happy Weatherpersons Day to all my fellow meteorologist! Thank you to everyone (professors and professionals) who have helped us newbies get into and more comfortable with the field!!

Happy Monday to everyone! If you haven’t already, grab an umbrella on your way out of the door this morning. Rain showers will be scattered throughout the day. Along with the occasional shower, expect those temperature to be pretty comfortable with above average temps for this time of the year. Below is the latest High Resolution Rapid-Refresh model run at 14z (HRRR).

As you can see, scatter showers are expected to pass through the south-central KY region this afternoon. The chance of rain increases into this evening and the overnight hours. Overall this week, expect this type of weather to continue. Much of the work week will be mostly cloudy with scattered showers. The greatest chance of rain will be mid week (Wednesday and Thursday). Once that system moves out the cold front associated will bring high’s back into the 30’s for your Friday.

FORECAST:

Today (1/4): Mostly cloudy with scattered rain showers throughout the day. Chance of rain 50%.
High: 65
Low: 52
Tonight: Chance of showers increasing with light rain expected this evening and overnight. (chance of rain 60%)

Tuesday (1/5): Mostly cloudy with a chance of a shower or two throughout the day. Chance of rain 30%.
High: 68
Low: 58

Heading into the overnight hours, temperatures around the area will warm back up above freezing. The thing to watch as we head into the early hours of tomorrow morning is the increasing chance for freezing drizzle. But with the increase in temperatures, the threat for freezing drizzle will be short.

Temperatures increase throughout the day on Friday into the mid 40s. Clouds will persist throughout the day with a chance of light rain during the morning hours. The clouds will stick around heading into the evening and overnight hours with low temperatures around the area in the mid 30s. High pressure builds in from the west heading into Saturday, aiding the eastward progression of the Arctic high that the Great Lakes and Ohio River Valley regions over the past few days.

Temperatures on Saturday warm up into the upper 50s with partly cloudy skies with overnight lows right around the 40 degree mark.

Above: 2m AGL Temperature Sat 2019-02-02 21Z

Sunday looks even better with temperatures in the lower 60s with partly cloudy skies.

Friday: A chance of light rain especially before the afternoon with cloudy skies, high of 45. Winds out of the SW at 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly cloud skies, with a low of 34. Very light winds out of the south.

Saturday: Partly cloudy skies with a near 62. South winds at 4 to 7 mph.

Sunday: Partly cloudy skies with a high near 67.

Unfortunately, the bone-chilling cold temperatures continue into tomorrow- well below freezing for most of the day. We’ll wake up to temperatures in the single digits, which will only rise to about 32º before the day is over.

Above, a short range model (HRRR) reinforces the idea of bitter cold hanging on for quite some time tomorrow. Bundle up, because it’s going to be another frigid one. Thankfully, not as frigid as northwestern Minnesota, where the all-time state low temperature record of -60º could be broken…

On a positive note, it does look like a few warm-ups are coming. It’s honestly crazy to think about: We are dealing with brutal cold in the single digits today and tomorrow, but this weekend we could shoot for 70º. That’s a huge change in the weather pattern!

Above, we can see the change from cold (purple/blue colors) to warm (green/yellow colors) by the weekend and early into the next week. If you aren’t a fan of the chilly weather, noticing this abrupt change in the models is a cause for some relief- however it also raises a red flag. Along with the warmer temperatures, we could have a shot at some severe weather in our area on Monday and then possibly again on Wednesday, however it is a bit too far out to get into specifics. Just something to keep in the back of your mind for now, and check in again before Monday.

Quick Summary:

-Tomorrow (Thursday) is going to be bitterly cold.

-It begins to slowly warm each day until we are looking at close to 70º by Sunday/Monday.

-The warmer weather comes with the chance for severe weather, with Monday looking most likely for that.

-Stay up to date with our blog for the latest on the warmer trend and severe chances early next week!