Meteorologists with the National Weather Service say a cold front moving through western Kentucky, Tennessee and southern Illinois on Sunday is likely to bring strong wind gusts and a chance for tornadoes in some areas.
Much of these states – including all of Kentucky west of Louisville, all of Tennessee west of Murfreesboro and all of Illinois south of Mount Vernon – have been placed at an enhanced risk for severe weather.
Gusts of at least 35 miles per hour are expected. Justin Gibbs, lead forecaster at the NWS Paducah office, said as of Saturday afternoon, there is a risk of “widespread damaging winds” where some local communities could experience wind gusts exceeding 70 mph on Sunday. The storm also has the potential to produce some tornadoes up to an EF-3 intensity – strong enough to potentially damage homes and other buildings.
Gibbs said the main concern for Sunday is a squall line that’s expected to track across the area starting in the late afternoon and into the evening. A squall line is a group of storms that typically cover a long length of land but are not wide. Those types of storms tend to produce high wind and heavy rain.
As of Saturday afternoon, Gibbs said the storm is expected to cross the Mississippi River Sunday evening between 7 and 9 p.m., and move quickly into the Pennyrile Area between 10 p.m. and midnight.
When the NWS Paducah office issues tornado warnings – which means a tornado has been spotted in person or on radar – Gibbs said officials typically try to keep the areas that are under a warning small. However, he said Sunday’s storm could require the office to include a larger number of cities and counties under a warning than normal to give more people lead time to prepare for tornadoes, if they come toward their locations.
Light snow is also possible Sunday evening, but Gibbs said there should not be any significant accumulation.
The region will probably experience much colder temperatures after the storm moves through, with single-digit wind chills likely on Monday and Tuesday mornings.
More information regarding the severe weather threat can be found on NWS Paducah’s website and Facebook. WKMS also broadcasts emergency alerts when officials issue warnings impacting the coverage area.
