Louisville weather: How cold will it get and will there be snow?
Winter is coming (yes, real winter) as snow is expected starting Sunday with wind chills dropping to the single digits or lower, according to the National Weather Service of Louisville.
Kyle Wilkins, a meteorologist with NWS Louisville, said the cold weather is normal during winter, but because temperatures have been mild in the past weeks, this upcoming forecast may come as a shock. He said the temperature is expected to drop to the single digits Monday and Tuesday evening with highs only in the upper teens during the day.
"So, we are dropping off a cliff as far as temperatures go," Wilkins said.
What to know about the forecast:
What's causing the cold weather?
Thanks in part to the return of the polar vortex, the coldest air of the season is poised to roar across the central and eastern U.S. over the next week, the National Weather Service said, according to USA TODAY.
"The stratospheric polar vortex is now stretching down across North America," NOAA climate scientist Amy Butler wrote Tuesday afternoon.
What is a polar vortex?
The polar vortex has only recently entered the popular lexicon as something to fear or shiver at each winter: But what is it? Is it a storm that's heading south from the Arctic or perhaps a new climate pattern to worry about, like El Niño? No to both, scientists say.
The polar vortex – everyone's favorite wintertime whipping boy – is actually a gigantic, circular area of cold air high up in the atmosphere that typically spins over the North Pole (as its name suggests). It's a normal pattern that's stronger in the winter and usually tends to keep the coldest weather bottled up near the North Pole.
When the polar vortex is "strong," cold air is less likely to plunge deep into North America, Weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said. The stronger the polar vortex, the milder the USA's winter is.
How low will the temperature be in Louisville?
Wilkins said the temperature in Louisville will probably be around 5 degrees Monday and Tuesday evening, and during the day the temperature will be in the upper teens, topping off around 20 degrees.
"We're not going to get much relief during the day either," he said.
In terms of wind chills, they are expected to be in the single and negative digits for Monday and Tuesday in Louisville:
Monday
12 a.m.: 9 degrees
6 a.m.: 6 degrees
Noon: 7 degrees
6 p.m. 1 degree
Tuesday
12 a.m.: -6 degrees
6 a.m.: -8 degrees
Noon: -3 degrees
6 p.m.: -1 degree
"The cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes," according to the National Weather Service.
Will it snow in Louisville next week?
According to the National Weather Service, there is a possibility snow will accumulate starting Sunday.
"Bitterly cold temperatures will follow in the wake of the potential snow as an arctic cold front pushes into the region," according to the NWS of Louisville.
Still, the agency does not have specific amounts of snow that can be expected.
What's the cold temperature record for Louisville?
According to the National Weather Service, the record cold temperature in January for Louisville happened Jan. 19, 1994, when the temperature hit -22 degrees.
What's the complete forecast for the upcoming days in Louisville?
Sunday: A 30% chance of snow showers, mainly after 1 pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 27 degrees.
Sunday night: A 50% chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 10 degrees.
Monday: A 30% chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy and cold, with a high near 19 degrees.
Monday night: A 40% chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 5 degrees.
Tuesday: A 20% chance of snow showers. Partly sunny and cold, with a high near 18 degrees.
More: How to keep your pipes from freezing when temperatures dip below zero
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville polar vortex: Forecast calls for extreme cold weather
