First comes high winds, thanks to a surface low pressure system moving from the plains to the Ohio Valley. That’s according to Alex Vorst, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson.
“Winds ahead of this system are gonna start picking up Friday morning and really continue through Saturday. Some of those winds can exceed 40 miles per hour gusts-wise and 40 up to 50 miles per hour gusts-wise.”
Vorst says the strongest winds will be across open terrain and higher elevations and there’s a chance of isolated strong thunderstorms. As temperatures drop, so will snowflakes.
“We'll see a transition from rain to snow overnight Friday into Saturday morning with some minor accumulations maybe on grassy surfaces, elevated surfaces like vehicles, roof of vehicles, maybe some on the roofs of houses.”
In the central and western parts of the state, winds could be even higher Friday, according to Kyle Wilkins, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Louisville. He says they may reach warning status, which is 58 miles per hour.
“We're concerned with a line of showers that could work through later in the afternoon that could bring some of the elevated higher winds down to the surface. So that's going to be the primary threat with that line Friday.”
Wilkins says the strong winds could be beneficial before the storm’s backside brings much cooler temperatures.
“The high winds should help to dry most of the roadways and stuff off before the cold temperatures are able to freeze that, but there's a possibility you can be left with some slick spots. Across most of the southern part of the state, you could see a couple snowflakes.”
From Sunday through Wednesday, temperatures across the state aren’t expected to rise above freezing.
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