The spring like warmth returned Monday with record warmth in Louisville and Bowling Green. The Louisville record dated back to 1890!. It was also a much warmer day south of highway 52 where highs off the Kentucky Mesonet were around 70. In the I-64 corridor, including Lexington, we topped out in the mid 60's, which is still pretty terrific.
There are changes coming as rain will be a major part of week. A strong jet stream has set up with its origins in the tropical Pacific, so it's bringing up a ton of moisture.
This pattern will only slowly sink southeastward as the very strong southwest Atlantic ridge that has dominated our weather since December only sags slightly. As it does sag, colder weather will slowly inch our way. There will be a couple of significant snows falling as far south as Texas with this set up. For us, perhaps late week we may...MAY...try to mix some snow showers in.
However, our big story will be rain. With 2 and perhaps 3 significant low pressures passing by, each one farther southeast than its predecessor, our rain totals this week look pretty impressive, in the 1 to 3 inch range.
Those are numbers off the European model, and are a pretty good bet for what we'll see around the area this week.
So spring warmth will fade with highs in the 30's by the end of the week, so enjoy the warmth while we've got it.
And don't forget Weatherman's Day Wednesday!
Bill
