An Inch of Snow Creates Havoc and the Last Polar Plunge!

Tuesday morning was a mess. The Louisville area had about a quick inch of morning snowfall, just before and during rush hour. The Jefferson County Public Schools decided to implement the two-hour delay, which had parents scrambling to find carpools and other arrangements for their children so that they could get to work as soon as they possibly could. The kids delighted in the late morning, of course. My niece, Lauren, had no school because my sister lives just outside of Jefferson County in the Goshen vicinity (Oldham County.) They called off classes period for the day. Children there had a four-day weekend. Lucky them, I guess. Anyway, temperatures were right around the freezing mark when the snow was falling and ground temperatures were cold enough to support the "sticking" light snow cover, until it melted off in the late morning/early afternoon hours when temperatures rose well into the 30s.

Also, Louisville is expecting another quick shot of arctic air to move in tomorrow (Thursday.) We should see a few flurries and another bout of frigid wind chills. Friday morning, I expect temperatures to fall into the single digits once again, but this coming weekend, there will be a major warming trend. A period of snow or wintry mix may fall late Friday night into Saturday morning before temperatures climb to near 40 Saturday afternoon, which, as "balmy" as it may seem, is about average for this time of year. Then, above normal temperatures take over for a few days, 50s expected by Monday. The extreme cold looks to be over for now, once this weekend arrives. The 8 to 14-day forecast suggests that temperatures will hover somewhere close to average and precipitation (mostly rain) will be heavier than usual. The only snow I expect to see over the next two weeks should be light and rather insignificant, following behind storm systems in wrap-around moisture. I expect a lot of snowfall to the north, in the Midwestern states, like around Chicago, where their seasonal totals thusfar are already exceeding the norm. Louisville's total snowfall for the 2007-08 winter season to date is 3.5 inches, considerably below the typical amount.