Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Jackson, KY
Issued by NWS Jackson, KY
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063 FXUS63 KJKL 012345 AAA AFDJKL AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED National Weather Service Jackson KY 645 PM EST Mon Dec 1 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - A messy winter weather event is on track for tonight and Tuesday, with wintery precipitation on the way, especially for locations along and north of the Mountain Parkway. - Drier and colder weather will be in place for the middle of the week. Temperatures will average between 5 and 10 degrees colder than normal. - The pattern will turn active towards the weekend with additional chances of precipitation. && .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Tuesday night) Issued at 213 PM EST MON DEC 1 2025 The Winter Weather Advisory has been expanded south and southwest given a sufficient number of mesoscale and global models depicting strong frontogenetic forcing potential extending in roughly an arc from parts of northeastern Kentucky southwest into central Kentucky, mainly between around midnight tonight and the Tuesday morning commute. Snow accumulation forecasts have likewise been raised in these areas, while the areal extent of ice accumulations has also expanded slightly, though maximum amounts look to remain at or below two-tenths of an inch. Some of the more aggressive guidance which indicate frontogenetic forcing indicate the potential for isolated strips of up to 4 inches of snow accumulation, with the Interstate 64 corridor and north the more likely locations to see such potential. Note that if frontogenetic forcing is not realized or displaced from current forecasts, snow and ice accumulations may be significantly lower with much less impact on travel late tonight through the Tuesday morning commute. Otherwise, there is no significant change to the larger-scale forecast, with a surface cyclone developing currently over the Deep South with an attendant surface trough extending north to the Cumberland Plateau region west of the Appalachians. This system will move to the East Coast Tuesday, with colder air spilling into the region from the northwest Tuesday into Tuesday night. The latest forecast does keep low-end PoPs (flurries and light snow showers) longer into the afternoon and evening Tuesday within the cold advection and upslope wind regime. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday through Monday) Issued at 218 PM EST MON DEC 1 2025 The long-term period opens Wednesday morning with good model agreement. The analysis shows broad 500 hPa ridging over the Southeast US, adjacent to an elongated ~590 dam high over the Caribbean. There is also a large, deep sub-500 dam low centered over Hudson Bay while another pronounced positively-tilted ridge is noted upstream, extending from Hawaii to the Yukon Territory. A 500 hPa trough axis extends southwest from the deep parent low over Hudson Bay to over the Southwestern CONUS. At the surface, a broad surface high over the Southeastern CONUS has an approximately 1023 mb core centered over the Central and Southern Appalachians. Upstream, a cold front is draped from the Central Plains northeastward over the Upper Midwest and beyond to an ~995 mb surface low over southeastern Hudson Bay. Behind that front, another ~1035 mb surface high is noted over Saskatchewan and adjacent provinces and states. Model differences remain relatively small through Friday morning, lending high forecaster confidence in overall pattern evolution. The aforementioned trough will rotate cyclonically around the upper low, shearing away from some of the energy over the Southwestern CONUS while dropping the associated cold front across our forecast area on Thursday, perhaps reinforcing a baroclinic zone to our south. The trailing area of high pressure passes over the Ohio Valley through early Friday. Uncertainty increases substantially thereafter as model spread increases. Southern stream energy may lead to weak cyclogenesis along the baroclinic zone by later Friday and Friday night, but much of the latest guidance suggests that most of this activity remains shunted south toward the Gulf of America and Southeast Coast. The NBM PoP was retained for this forecast period, though it has decreased sharply since the 00Z package. It may continue drying up, although a slight poleward shift in the 01/12Z deterministic ECMWF brought light precipitation northwest enough to brush southeastern KY. Another low-amplitude trough axis, rotating around the parent 500 hPa low, dives in from the northwest this weekend, but timing and strength across the Ohio Valley become much less certain by that time. Moisture increases only minimally ahead of the trough`s associated cold front, perhaps attended by a weak low-pressure wave, and the details regarding precipitation type and amount are unclear at this point. The forecast becomes even more obscure next week, though the general model consensus suggests at least modest reamplification of the upper-level troughing over the Eastern CONUS. In sensible weather terms, look for generally below-normal temperatures and precipitation through the long-term forecast period. Wednesday may end up being the sunniest day of the period and one of the mildest with highs mainly in the upper 30s north to mid 40s south. Clouds increase heading into Thursday but expect little more than a sprinkle or flurry. It will be colder, however, with Thursdays highs only forecast to reach the mid 30s north to low 40s south. For Friday through the weekend, there will likely be ample clouds, generally thinner to the north, mixed with filtered sunshine at times. Daily high temperatures should rebound into the 40s for the weekend, though they will likely cool off heading into the new work week. Nighttime lows should range mainly in the 20s and 30s, likely coldest Thursday night and warmest Friday and Saturday nights. There are some precipitation chances from Friday through early next week, but any amounts appear minimal at this time. && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Tuesday evening) ISSUED AT 645 PM EST MON DEC 1 2025 VFR conditions were noted across eastern Kentucky, under increasing and thickening clouds. Precipitation will overtake the area from the south and west through 06Z, with conditions deteriorating to IFR or worse into dawn, Tuesday. The precipitation is expected to be rain for most of the forecast area tonight, except for a wintery mix north of the Mountain Parkway. Conditions then improve from northwest to southeast toward Tuesday afternoon, but models differ on the timing of the end of precipitation as well as how quickly conditions improve. Winds will be light and variable through the bulk of the period. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 10 AM EST Tuesday for KYZ044- 050>052-058>060-068-069-104-106-108. && $$ SHORT TERM...CMC LONG TERM...GEERTSON AVIATION...CMC/GREIF