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6pm Update

Moderate to heavy snow is breaking out across eastern Kentucky and southern Ohio. This snow line will continue to work eastward across the region this evening. Temps are dropping quickly into the 20s and this will cause the standing water to freeze up. But snow on top of that and you have the recipe for some nasty travel.

White out conditions will be likely this evening and overnight as winds gust to30mph or higher. Keep posting the weather from where you live and take care.

4pm Update

The arctic front is moving into eastern Ky right now. There is a narrow band of thunderstorms along this boundary. Some areas may have a thunderstorm and snow within an hour of one another. WOW!

Snow will fill in behind this front as it works across our region. It's going to be a wild evening!

1pm Update

Good afternoon everyone. The NWS has finally issued a Winter Weather Advisory for our entire region through Friday.

The arctic front is working through central Ky and will arrive around sundown. Temps will drop into the 20s behind this front as rain changes to snow. That snow could be heavy at times. Winds of 30-40mph will be possible.

Additional snow showers and squalls will carry us into Friday. More updates later. Take care.


Original Post

Good Thursday to one and all. We have a big blast of winter blowing into the region today as an arctic front races in from west to east. A drastic drop in temps will be accompanied by a band of snow and snow squalls that may cause widespread travel issues later this evening into Friday.

There isn’t much more I can say about what’s coming our way over the next few days. This system continues to progress very nicely toward my thoughts from several days ago and that lends confidence to the overall forecast. That said… I’m certainly not about to do a touchdown dance at the one yard line.

This is a robust upper level low sweeping on from the west today. It is taking on a bit of a negative tilt and this means there should be some tremendous lift out ahead of it. Take a look at this bad boy on the GFS…

There will be plenty of rising air on the nose of that disturbance punching in from the southwest. That lift is directly behind the arctic front and should cause a swath of snow and squalls to develop. You can see that enhancement on the GFS…

That could be a wicked band of snow developing behind the boundary as it rushes eastward. What does it all mean for you? Let’s break it down…

- The arctic front sweeps in from west to east today and should move through our coverage area between 6 and 9 this evening.

- Temps will spike into the 40s to near 50 ahead of the front and drop some 20-30 degrees in just a few hours once the front passes where you live. Most areas will be in the upper teens and low 20s by late evening.

- A band of snow will be right behind the front and this band will bring moderate to heavy bursts at times. Travel conditions will quickly go downhill.

- Widespread snow showers and squalls will then carry us through the overnight into Friday with the greatest concentration in the central and east.

- Let’s forecast a general 1″-3″ of snowfall during this time. Locally higher amounts are more than possible for areas getting in on the bursts of heavier snows. There may also be some areas coming in on the lower side of things. A map from me wouldn’t do much good because it would be impossible to draw boundaries with a setup like this.

- The West Virginia Mountains will pick up their usual thumping from this with amounts of 6"+.

- Winds will be a big time player as gusts range from 30-40mph this evening into early Friday. This will create blowing snow and white out conditions at times. Wind chills may go below zero.

- A clipper will arrive late Saturday into early Sunday and should have a swath of accumulating light snow setting up somewhere across the tri state.

Let's track the blast of winter...

Charleston

Huntington

Ashland

Portsmouth

I will have updates through the day and will be a tweeting machine. Follow my new account @ChrisBaileyWSAZ as I will use that for local information. I also have a private account geared more toward by old stomping grounds... @Kentuckyweather. We also want to hear from you and what’s going on where you live, so leave us some detailed reports. You guys are the backbone of this site and your updates really allow the weather community to get a grasp on what’s actually happening out there.

Have a great Thursday and take care.