First accumulating snow of the season, temperatures in the teens await Lexington area

Despite a warm Veteran’s Day morning and afternoon in Lexington, the weather is expected to change in a big, wintry way during the night.

Lexington is expected to receive its first snowfall of the season Monday night into Tuesday, according to WKYT Chief Meteorologist Chris Bailey and the National Weather Service. Temperatures in the 60s Monday afternoon will drop significantly, and many people in the area could wake up to snow on the ground Tuesday morning.

National Weather Service meteorologist Mark Jarvis said rain beginning in the afternoon will transition into snow sometime between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Monday. Temperatures will not reach freezing until around midnight, but snow can fall when the temperatures are around 34 to 36 degrees, he added.

Snow will mostly accumulate on grassy and elevated surfaces, and most of Kentucky will receive between a coating and 2 inches of snow, Bailey said.

“The concern, with the snow on the roads this evening, is the roads will be wet,” Jarvis said. “When the temperatures fall below 30 degrees, any of that leftover water on the roadway could freeze.”

A flash freeze is “very possible,” according to Bailey.

The coating of snow “could lead to some issues on area roads,” he said. “I do expect some delays and cancellations Tuesday morning.”

The forecast has led the National Weather Service to issue a Winter Weather Advisory. WKYT reported the first measurable snowfall arrives in Lexington, on average, on Nov. 22, and the weather service said it has never snowed on Veteran’s Day.

Rob Allen, director of the Lexington Streets & Road Department, said it will be hard for crews to pre-treat the roads since it will likely rain before it snows.

“We’ll have the supervisor and crews come in in the evening and monitor the conditions,” Allen said. “We’ll be keeping an eye on it, but with the ground temperatures really high, we’re hoping that keeps snow from accumulating.”

Temperatures will continue to fall Tuesday and will hit 19 or 20 degrees by 7 a.m., according to Jarvis. By Tuesday night, temperatures are projected to be around 12 or 13 degrees in Lexington, which would be close to a record low for the date, the weather service stated.

Single-digit wind chills are possible Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, Bailey said.

But after the 48- to 60-hour glimpse of winter weather, fall weather returns. After Wednesday, temperatures will gradually increase as the week progresses, Jarvis said.

“It’s just a big arctic mass,” Jarvis said. “This cold air is very dense, close to the ground and it will spill into the Kentucky region. The core of it is in the Chicago area. We’ll just get a glancing blow at it.”

This story was originally published November 11, 2019 at 1:16 PM.