Sun to Accompany Warmth

It appears that the gloomy and soggy weather vacated the premises just in time for the holiday! Lately we've had to put up with pesky showers and thick cloud cover. It's almost as if we've the sun peek out just a handful of times the entire month. Today the sun finally got to beam in all of its radiant glory. Clouds were on their way out through the morning hours and early afternoon, and a few hours of mainly clear skies sneaked in for Christmas, with the maximum duration of sunshine in places to the southwest of Bowling Green.

The additional sunlight boosted our high temperatures into the mid-to-upper 40s. In fact, there were a couple locations in south-central Kentucky that reached 50°. In case you're curious, our average high for Christmas is 46°. Bowling Green officially came in at 48°. High pressure surged in off the Gulf yesterday after the departure of a cold front, and gave the cloud cover the boot. We've been on a rather warm streak lately. Winds pushing from the south and southwest have contributed to a recent pattern of slightly warmer than average temperatures.

Nearly all of the central and eastern US experienced above-average temperatures today

This contribution from the Gulf of Mexico laid some of the groundwork for severe weather to culminate in the Deep South on Tuesday. You may have seen on the news lately the aftermath of a few tornadoes in Mississippi and Louisiana, two of which were unfortunately fatal. It turns out that this region is no stranger to December severe weather. On Christmas Day two years ago, these same regions were impacted by an unseasonably potent tornado outbreak. The worst is over now though, as cooler and drier conditions are underway in the South.

We have no such hazardous weather in our future to worry about though. Our temperatures will actually be on the rise tomorrow and into the weekend. High pressure will be up to its old tricks again. You may have heard us talk about this kind of setup before. With a high positioned over the Carolinas, air will cycle clockwise around it and stream warmer southerly air our way. We'll also owe the warm-up to abundant sunshine. Had we seen the sun come out sooner today, our temperatures throughout the area likely would have broken the 50° mark. Our next big weather-maker will come in the form of a cold front, which looks to bring chances of rain from Saturday night into late Sunday.

Tonight: Clear skies with a low of 33°. Winds from the south at 5 mph.
Friday: Plentiful sunshine with a high around 55°. South winds increasing to 5-10 mph.
Friday night: A few clouds return with a low near 38°. South winds at 5 mph.

Merry Christmas!
- Caleb Chevalier