Rain -- but no winter weather -- in weeks leading up to Christmas

Carla Slavey, Commonwealth Journal, Somerset, Ky.
·4 min read

Dec. 8—Pulaski might not see a White Christmas, since Mother Nature seems to be focusing on keeping things unseasonably warm.

But if the warm yet rainy weather has got you down, at least take some comfort in the fact that the forecast isn't predicting anything as damaging as last year's tornado strike on western Kentucky.

Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary of the deadly tornadoes that were seen across Tennessee and Kentucky, one of which was tracked across 11 western Kentucky counties.

That tornado officially killed 57 people and caused millions of dollars worth of damage. There are still homes and buildings under construction and repair, and, according to a report from WDRB, around $9 million of the $52.3 million raised by the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund has not yet been given out to those who need it.

Although the Pulaski area has seen some thunderstorms in the past few days — and more may be on the way — meteorologist John Pelton from the National Weather Service in Jackson said there is no threat of severe weather on the horizon.

There is a chance of showers and local thunderstorms coming in Thursday, increasing throughout the night and into Friday, but a cold front should move in Friday that will tamp down the chance of rain until Saturday, he said.

There's almost no chance of flooding from these storms, as Pelton added that the area has seen around 3.6 inches of precipitation in the 36 hours from Tuesday through Wednesday morning. The upcoming rain should only be around an inch to an inch and a half.

"There could be some locally higher amounts with thunderstorms within the area," he said. "At this point we're not really expecting much chance of flooding, but there could be some puddling of water in those low-lying areas and ditches. Culverts might fill up."

With daytime high temperatures in the 50s and 60s, and overnight lows hovering around 40, the good news is that all the precipitation will stay in the form of rain.

The temperatures are "definitely above average for this time of year," Pelton said, and will continue to stay "near normal if not above normal all the way to the middle of next week."

Looking on through till around the 20th, near-normal temperatures and higher-than-normal precipitation should be the routine.

As for the 25th and the chances for a White Christmas? "Climatologically, I'd say we probably wouldn't see one, but it'd be a little early to know for sure on that," Pelton said.

Pelton did, however, point out that despite the warmer temperatures this week is Winter Weather Awareness Week in Kentucky. He urged everyone to look out for and understand the different types of announcements the National Weather Service can send out:

* Winter Weather Advisory — means snow is expected between 1 to 4 inches within a 12-hour period, or a combination of snow, sleet and freezing rain will happen within a 12-hour period, which is expected in the next two to three days.

* Winter Storm Watch — means a combination of snow, sleet or freezing rain with more than four inches of precipitation within a 12-hour period is expected within the next two to three days.

* Winter Storm Warning — means a combination of snow, sleet or freezing rain of more than four inches of precipitation within a 12-hour period is expected in the next 24 to 48 hours.

* Ice Storm Warning — means ice accumulations of a quarter of an inch or more are expected in the next 24 to 48 hours.

* Blizzard Warning — means winds of at least 35 mph and visibilities of less than a quarter of a mile due to snow are expected to happen for at least three straight hours.

* Snow Squall Warning — means intense bursts of snow with gusty winds could cause whiteout conditions.

* Wind Chill Watch — means the wind chill temperatures is expected to drop to -25 F or less with a 10 mph wind sometime within the next two to three days.

* Wind Chill Advisory — means the wind chill temperatures are expected to fall between -10 and -24 F with a 10 mph wind in the next 24 to 48 hours.

* Wind Chill Warning — means the wind chill is expected to be -25 F or colder with at least a 10 mph wind in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com