Unseasonable Cold Continues Tonight

Top of the evening to you! Hopefully you’ve been enjoying your day despite the gray dreariness that the clouds presented. The day started off with a little bit of sun but that didn’t last too long. We were watching some light showers roll through the Paducah area before lunch and saw some reports of a little sleet mixing in. Sure enough, when the rounds of light rain passed through south-central Kentucky this afternoon, similar reports came in. Even a few flakes were mixing in. The high in Bowling Green actually came before noon. So while it was in the low to mid-40s at the surface, it was cold enough above us to spit out some frozen particles. This is partially an omen of how chilly it will get tonight.

Some locations in our viewing area dropped below freezing last night, but everyone will for sure this time. In fact, it won’t even be close. Lows will be around 22°, almost 20 degrees below normal. The bright side is that clouds will quickly pull away once the sun comes up tomorrow. However, temperatures for highs won’t be much better than today (I’m calling for mid-40s). So where in the world did spring go? Perhaps these sorts of weather swings aren’t so surprising anymore after the up-and-down patterns through the past couple months. We do live in Kentucky, after all. At any rate, be sure to cover up any plants you’ve set out, or bring them inside, because they won’t stand much of a chance against the cold.

These are the low temperatures projected by the NAM-4KM model for tonight. We’re looking at lows well below normal. (via WeatherBell Analytics)

There is a return to seasonable temperatures on the way, however. Though we’ll be on the chilly side tomorrow, there will be a lot more sunshine. Clouds may be present around sunrise but this should quickly give way to mostly sunny skies for Saturday. Tomorrow night will make two nights in a row with lows in the 20s, but Sunday will make an impressive rebound. The Canadian high partially responsible for the chilly weather will move almost due south through the region Saturday night, and will end up off the Georgia coast on Sunday. This is good news for us because the circulation should bring warmer southerly air into south-central Kentucky. The difference between Sunday’s high and low could easily be 30 degrees. Sometime that evening, a cold front is due to arrive from the west, bringing the chance for scattered showers. But calling it a “cold front” doesn’t seem very fitting, because Monday should be even warmer.

Thanks for reading!

- Caleb Chevalier