It’s been a soggy start to the work week as a layer of moisture moved overhead. Showers have been widespread and light for the most part with small breaks in between consisting of cloud coverage only. Temperatures have warmed into the upper 50s and low 60s, despite the clouds. This can be attributed to the strong south-southwesterly wind running sustained 10-25 mph.
As the cold front gets closer, rain will get heavier and a few rumbles of thunder are possible. This is expected around the late evening tonight. The impending cold front will slide in overnight and tomorrow morning, changing the wind direction. A very cold, arctic air mass is diving south and will be cold enough to bring our temperatures down to freezing through the day Tuesday.
Precipitation will start Tuesday as scattered rain showers. As we near the morning commute, there will be some mixing of snow inside the rain. Model trends are showing a significant dry layer as the front slides out, which will help to limit snow production, and therefore accumulation. Still, buy morning commute time, snow will begin to fall. Snow continues to mix in with rain through the early to middle afternoon for southern and southeastern counties.
Another benefit to us will be the warm road surface temperatures through the day tomorrow. Little to minor road accumulation is expected thanks to the road surface temperatures staying above freezing. Bridges and overpasses will cool more and are expected to collect some snow. Use caution.
Most snow will accumulation on grass, raised surfaces, and other non-pavement locations. The Bluegrass will end up mostly below an inch, but some areas in the south and southeastern Bluegrass could see up to 2.00.” Southeastern counties will see the majority of snow collection due to the colder air in higher terrain and the stalling of the frontal moisture. This could let anywhere between an inch and a half to three inches fall and collect on non-pavement surfaces. Localized higher amounts are possible along Black and Pine Mountain.
The arctic air will slide in and hang out for a few days. Temperatures remain cold through Thursday. Overnight lows will dip into the low 20s and upper teens while afternoon highs only rise to freezing or a little above. We balance out late week, before the next round of arctic air slides in and keeps us cool next week.
