County hit with another round of snow

Dec. 27—Additional snowfall made its way to the Daviess County and Owensboro areas Monday after seeing both snow and freezing temperatures Thursday night into Friday morning prior to Christmas Day.

According to Michael York, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Paducah, most areas saw around one inch of snow, with "give-or-take a couple tenths," with temperatures at about 20.

York and Chris Cunningham, deputy director of Daviess County Emergency Management Agency, said this weather event wasn't as severe compared to last week regarding temperatures and travel.

"Fortunately, there wasn't much wind with this round of snow, so we didn't really have any big problems with drifting or blowing snow," York said. "... Last week's was much higher impact for a few reasons — we had what we call a flash freeze, where temperatures drop very suddenly and moisture on the roads froze as the snow was falling, so there was some ice component where there was frozen slush underneath; and the winds were much stronger. Winds were gusting over 40 mph, so there was a lot of snow blowing back onto the roads and the wind chills were dangerously low."

"This morning, we didn't ... have a flash freeze. Temperatures have been below freezing for several days now," Cunningham said Monday. "We basically knew this was coming (and) we knew where temperatures were going to be prior to the snow."

York said that snow amounts were higher last week, with some areas receiving 2 and 3 inches.

"Last night, things were a lot different," York said. "We had a little less snow. We had warmer temperatures. We had no wind. People aren't normally out this early in the morning, especially today (being) a federal holiday so traffic was less."

As of Monday morning, York said the snow had ended in most areas with the exception of a "few flurries," but the forecast called for more snow arriving in the late afternoon into the evening hours, getting up to one inch and temperatures dropping into the 20s.

York said the snow can still impact travel, especially on "untreated secondary roads," and could cause some refreezing.

Cunningham said road crews were out since 3:30 a.m. driving through the county.

"I think now what we're seeing as the temperature is starting to rise, salt and brine of what they are placing on the roads are starting to work," he said. "...I think when we get above that freezing mark where the salt will work, I think you'll start seeing the road conditions slowly get better.

"There's not a whole lot you can do to prep the roads at a flash freezing point, so the road crews have been doing great today and I think everybody will see a pretty big difference."

Cunningham advises drivers to practice caution when on the roads and not to crowd the snow plows that are removing snow.

Regarding Tuesday's outlook, York said it looks to be "a quiet day" with some sunshine, but will still remain cold.

"That will be relatively good compared to the last several days," he said.

However, York warns that refreezing could recur Tuesday night as temperatures will be down to the mid-20s, though the forecast "looks dry."

But the weather for the latter half of the week is predicted to be different from what the area has experienced over the past few days.

"Wednesday should be relatively mild with highs around 50, or at least getting up well into the 40s," York said. "There should be lots of sun, so that should really help things out; and then it just gets milder from there."

York said the forecast shows temperatures will reach close to 60 degrees on Thursday and Friday based on the location of the jet stream.

"If the jet stream is to your south, you generally have colder air; if it's to your north, you have warmer air," he said. "If you have a dip in the jet stream, that allows the colder air to come down into that dip. (For) Thursday, it dipped down into the Gulf Coast area .... A huge change in the jet stream is coming where the dip in the jet stream is more in the Rockies later this week, so that means it's coming up from the southwest over our area (and) we end up on the warm side of the jet stream and end up with warmer temperatures, as well as ... more moisture, because that southwest flow brings up all the subtropical moisture ...."

With this, York said there could be "a couple heavy rain events" on the horizon, with one occurring later in the week.

Despite the warmer temperatures, Cunningham said residents should be aware of concerns regarding frozen pipes.

"If you're going to have a lot of issues with frozen pipes, it's going to be when the temperature gets that high as we go through this week," he said, "(with) that drastic warmup, if something is frozen, (it's) likely to bust."

Cunningham said residents should make sure that faucets are on a drip and to have heat under cabinets and sink areas.

Regarding the weeks ahead, York said the longer-range outlook from the NWS' Climate Prediction Center is "not forecasting any severe cold through the middle of January" at this time.

"...Winter's probably not over, but we may be in pretty good shape for a couple more weeks but it's a little too early too tell ...," he said.