KY welcomes ‘coldest air of the season’ as arctic blast moves into MLK Day celebrations
Kentucky is facing an arctic cold front and possible snow showers to lead into the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, according to the Louisville National Weather Service.
The “coldest air of the season” began passing through Kentucky on Sunday morning. The front brought “brutally cold” temperatures and wind chills to the entire state dropping into the single digits and wind chill temperatures dropping below zero.
Sunday’s expected high is 16 degrees, and lows could dip as low as 8 degrees, according to the NWS.
The National Weather Service said to expect these weather conditions to continue throughout the week, as above freezing temperatures are not expected to return until Thursday. After that, another period of cold is expected on Friday.
Brutally cold wind chills are expected behind an arctic front Sunday morning as quickly dropping temperatures combine with 15-20 mph winds out of the west-northwest. Minimum wind chills will range from +5 to as cold as -20. #INwx #KYwx pic.twitter.com/fEKcIJGfD0
— NWS Louisville (@NWSLouisville) January 13, 2024
Moving into the week, Kentuckians can still expect light snow early Monday morning, and again Monday afternoon into the night across south and central parts of the state, according to the NWS.
Snow showers are expected to end on Tuesday, but the cold will remain with minimum wind chill values 5 degrees below zero to 5 degrees above zero.
Wind chills below zero will continue into Wednesday. The cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes, the weather service warned.
Despite the cold temperatures, celebration plans for Martin Luther King Jr. Day could continue on Monday. In Lexington, a Freedom March is planned to begin at 1 p.m. at the Central Bank Center. A commemorative program is scheduled at 2 p.m. with musical guests, Uniting Voices Chicago and Uniting Voices Lexington. The keynote speaker is Reverend Dr. Kevin W. Cosby of Simmons College of Kentucky.
Join us Monday at the Central Bank Center for the annual MLK Holiday Celebration!
• 1 p.m. – Freedom March
• 2 p.m. – Commemorative program, featuring keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Kevin W. Cosby, youth choral ensemble Uniting Voices Chicago and Uniting Voices Lexington pic.twitter.com/S28XvU6KFh— City of Lexington Ky (@LexingtonKyGov) January 12, 2024
In Richmond, the local NAACP chapter and seven other community organizations will host a charitable donation collection drive and commemorative march in the morning.
According to a press release, the goal of the city’s Monday programming is designed in the spirit of “making it a day on and not a day off.”
Staging and donation collections will begin at 9 a.m. at the First Christian Church parking lot at 412 West Main Street. The march will begin at 10 a.m. Donations will be collected before the march for four charitable entities: MadisonHome Inc., New Liberty Family Shelter, Colonel’s Cupboard, and Hope’s Wings Domestic Violence Program.
Items requested by these public charities include many household essentials and food items. A full list of needed items for each entity can be found on the NAACP website.
The march will be commemorative, aimed at raising awareness to support those in greatest need within Richmond, including the homeless and unhoused, and persons experiencing food insecurity.
In addition to the charities mentioned, the march will include community partners including Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, the Madison County Tenants Union, Eastern Kentucky University, among others. Following the march, there will be a pep rally featuring brief remarks at the O’Donnell Building on EKU’s campus.
