Below-zero wind chills, light snow possible in Central KY soon. How & when will it unfold?
Lexington residents should enjoy this weekend’s mild temperatures while they last.
After brief a thaw with highs in the 40s Friday and Saturday another mass of arctic air is headed to Central Kentucky, possibly bringing subzero wind chills by Monday morning, the National Weather Service forecast discussion said Friday.
Rain showers Friday night and Saturday will help melt a build-up of snow and ice, but also create possible slick spots when it freezes over again as temperatures plummet. The high Sunday will be near 26 degrees Fahrenheit, with a low around 3 degrees that night, Friday’s NWS forecast showed.
When bitter cold temperatures return Monday, residents in Central Kentucky will need to be prepared. The high for Martin Luther King Jr. Day is near 14 degrees.
“People still need to be focusing on the cold weather, especially Monday morning and Tuesday morning,” Mark Jarvis, a meteorologist with the NWS in Louisville, told the Herald-Leader Wednesday.
That means dressing warmly, monitoring the roads and winterizing your home as much as you can, Jarvis stressed.
“If you have exposed pipes, it might be a good idea to leave cabinets open under your sink or you can leave a slow stream of water going overnight,” Jarvis said.
Here’s what to expect from the weather this weekend leading into another cold start to the workweek Monday.
Warm temperatures this weekend
Warm (or at least warmer) weather is expected to return Friday and Saturday with temperature highs between 40 and 50 degrees, per the weather service.
Friday night will bring rain showers that will continue into Saturday morning, followed by flurries and “minor fluffy accumulations” of snow Saturday night.
Cold weather returns again starting on Sunday with wind chills in the teens, Friday’s NWS forecast discussion stated.
Frigid weather returns Monday
The start of the workweek Monday will also mark the return of frigid temperatures in Central Kentucky.
According to NWS forecasters, you can “expect frigid conditions early next week, with lows in the single digits and highs in the teens to low 20s. Wind chills between minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit and 5 degrees Fahrenheit look possible Monday morning.”
Wind chills are expected to linger in the single digits or teens from Monday afternoon through Wednesday night, and on Wednesday morning, residents may again wake up to subzero wind chills.
That said, forecasters expect warmer air to return to the region between Wednesday and Thursday.
“Highs will finally get back above freezing by Thursday,” forecasters project.
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This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 10:24 AM.