Kentucky to get most severe cold snap in years with wind chills below zero this week
Brace yourselves, Kentuckians. It’s been more than two years since we’ve had the kind of deep freeze that is heading this way.
Central Kentucky will have about six consecutive days where temperatures don’t break freezing this week.
Meteorologist Ron Steve, of the National Weather Service in Louisville, said Monday’s high in Lexington was 32, but the city hit that figure early in the morning.
It will be Saturday or Sunday before temperatures get there again.
Just how cold will it get this week?
The weather service predicts Lexington’s low Thursday morning is expected to be 3 degrees, with a wind chill of around -5.
Temperatures will be in the single digits Friday morning too, Steve said.
WKYT Chief Meteorologist Chris Bailey said he thinks it might not get that cold if the cloud cover sticks around.
“The clouds at night act as a kind of blanket,” he said.
In that case, Bailey said, temperatures might not fall below the teens.
Bailey said the region could continue to get snow showers and flurries, even before a new storm system moves in Friday. He said some areas, including Lexington, could get up to half an inch of new snowfall Tuesday, which could once again make travel a challenge.
While Kentuckians have spent the past several days wondering about power outages and dangerous travel conditions brought on by a winter storm that dumped 7 inches of snow and about half an inch of ice on Lexington, they’ll now need to begin thinking about making sure pipes don’t freeze.
“That’s potentially a big deal,” Steve said. “Protect your pipes. Think about dripping those faucets, especially Wednesday night and Thursday night. If you’re outside, make sure you’re dressed for it.”
When wind chills get below zero as the weather service says they will be at times this week, Steve said frostbite can happen in less than an hour.
People should make sure to bring pets indoors, he said.
Officials have warned that those without power as a result of Winter Storm Blair should seek shelter with friends or family or at a warming center.
The last time Central Kentucky had a cold snap of this severity was two years ago, just before Christmas 2022, when there were four consecutive days for below-freezing temperatures and two consecutive days with lows below zero, Steve said.
“That was almost a generational kind of cold outbreak,” he said.
Steve said that weather event was notable because temperatures on Dec. 22 were in the 40s, but the temperature dropped sharply, giving Dec. 23 a high of 17 at midnight.
“It was below zero by the time the sun came up that morning,” he said.
It was Dec. 27 before Lexington saw temperatures above freezing again.
Bailey said the last time it was cold for as long as predicted this week was at least a decade ago, during the winters of 2013 and 2014. He also recalled the winter of 2015, when snowstorms dumped a foot or more of snow on the region in February and again in March.
“We’re kind of making up for lost time,” he said.
By Friday, Kentuckians may be getting more snow. Bailey said the chance is for “a few to several inches across the entire state.”
Steve said he thinks it will likely be “minor accumulations.”
“At least it’s all snow this time,” he said.
This story was originally published January 7, 2025 at 11:28 AM.
