When will snow in Central Kentucky melt? Here’s how long you might see snow packs
By now, it’s likely many Lexington residents are sick of the snow.
In the last week or so, Lexington has seen about a foot of the stuff. Winter Storm Blair brought at least 7 inches when it blew through Jan. 5. That was followed by 3 more inches of snow Friday and early Saturday.
Unfortunately, it’s likely to stick around for quite a while. That’s according to analysis from National Weather Service meteorologist Evan Webb, with the agency’s Louisville office.
“I don’t think the snow pack is going to go anywhere in a hurry,” Webb told the Herald-Leader in an interview Friday. “It’ll just kind of be a winter wonderland for the next couple of weeks, I think.”
So how long will all this snow and ice stick around? What will it take to melt it all? Here’s what to expect this week and beyond, with insights from Webb and the nation’s Climate Prediction Center.
How long will snow stick around in Central Kentucky?
According to Webb, it’s possible we’ll see this snow stick around for at least another week or more.
“This snow is going to stick around for another week to 10 days at least, I think,” Webb told the Herald-Leader Jan. 10. “Beyond that, it’s hard to say how fast we might lose it.”
The latest forecast from the National Weather Service has Lexington seeing a string of mostly sunny days this week, but only two are above freezing. The temperature high Monday briefly got above freezing at 35 degrees Fahrenheit, but that dropped off as the sun rose. Lexington isn’t expected to see above-freezing temperatures until Thursday, Jan. 16, with single-digit lows and additional snowfall possible between now and then.
It takes a significant amount of energy to melt snow, and there are more factors at play than whether temperatures outside are above freezing. If you’ve ever seen a large pile of snow linger in a grocery store’s parking lot well into the spring, you know this.
Factors such as intense solar radiation, high humidity and warm ground temperatures can come together to rapidly speed up snow melt.
Some rapid snow melt may be in store for us Friday, Jan. 17, however, when the high is forecast to reach into the 40’s with a strong chance of rain. Some research has shown that warm rain can accelerate snow melt, with a 40-degree rain potentially doubling its pace.
What’s the outlook beyond this week?
A Climate Prediction Center outlook issued Jan. 12 shows Kentucky will likely experience below-normal temperatures from Jan. 20 to Jan. 26.
The outlook puts all of the commonwealth and much of the Midwest at a 70 to 80% chance of below-normal temperatures for January.
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