NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The weather pattern for January is roaring like a lion as a series of fronts brings Arctic air into the United States, and Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky are in line for this bitter cold. There are also chances of wintry precipitation such as snow, sleet and freezing rain.
Looking at the big picture, the Climate Prediction Center has issued an eight to 14 day temperature outlook highlighting a guarantee of below-average temperatures. This means our region could certainly experience temperatures running 20 to 30 degrees colder than average.
Now to the series of Arctic fronts and precipitation chances. The first is an Arctic cold front arriving Friday morning, which will bring a few snow flurries with no accumulation expected, but the colder air will take over. Temperatures are mainly in the 30s, feeling like the 20s.
The second system will be from Sunday to Monday. This is a massive weather system, likely to bring in many inches of snow in parts of Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana. The setup and track of the surface low will be key for the precipitation type. At this time, the European forecast model has the low moving from Arkansas to Northern Tennessee and into Southern Kentucky. This track favors a predominately cold rain event for us with our Southern Kentucky counties possibly seeing an icing event Sunday morning before changing over to rain. If the low were to track farther south, the wintry mix and snow chances would increase more over our region into Middle Tennessee.