While it’s too early to say if Western Kentucky will have a white Christmas, it’s shaping up to be a bitterly cold holiday week.
National Weather Service in Paducah Meteorologist Sean Poulos says “there is increasing confidence in bitterly cold air impacting the region later next week into the Christmas holiday.”
He says temperatures may be up to 25-30 degrees below normal at the peak of this cold outbreak, which appears to be centered from next Thursday night into Christmas Eve.
It’s possible high temperatures during that time period may struggle to reach 20 and lows could dip into the single digits.
Gusty winds are expected as well, which may lead to wind chills falling below zero.
Poulos says there is lesser confidence regarding potential wintry precipitation during the middle of next week, despite what you may see on some social media accounts, but any snow cover next week could make temperatures colder.
Western Kentucky won’t be alone in the freezer, with below normal temperatures expected next week across the eastern two-thirds of the country, including the deep south.