Winter weather is coming to western Kentucky. The National Weather Service projects chilly temperatures and up to 6 inches of snow in western Kentucky, western Tennessee and southern Illinois tomorrow and much of the area is under a winter weather advisory.
The fast-moving system is expected to move across the region Thursday morning.
“This will be a fast-moving system. It’s not going to last long,” NWS lead forecaster Chris Noles said during a Wednesday briefing. “It’s going to buzz across the area through the day.”
Southeast Missouri and southern Illinois should see their first flakes between 6 and 8 a.m., with the storm moving out of the area by noon. Paducah will see its snow accumulation likely between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Murray and the Lakes region will see snow as early as 8 a.m. with accumulation possibly through 4 p.m.
The lowest amounts are expected across southeast Missouri and southern Illinois with “increasing to impactful amounts” potentially across the Pennyrile region, specifically the Kentucky Lakes region and eastward towards Hopkinsville and Elkton. Much of the Paducah area has a projected total snowfall of 2 to 4 inches, while some parts of Calloway County and east into Christian County have the potential to receive as much as 6 inches.
Highs on Thursday and Friday are expected to be below freezing, though temperatures could rebound over the weekend. This frigid forecast, Nole said, could mean this dry snow will stay on the ground for a few days.
“It’s going to be plenty cold for snow. So once it starts to fall it’s going to stick immediately,” he added. “ Lots of single digits to several degrees below zero Friday morning, temperatures rebound over the weekend after two very cold days.”
Though some areas could experience more or less than their projected amounts, Noles doesn’t anticipate any major shifts in the forecast.
For updated forecasts, visit www.weather.gov/pah.
