textproduct: Louisville

KEY MESSAGES

* Brutally cold temperatures continue for at least the next 5-7 days. A Cold Weather Advisory will continue through today, and an Extreme Cold Warning will take effect Monday night into Tuesday with minimum wind chill values expected to reach as cold as 20 degrees below zero.

UPDATE

Issued at 840 PM EST Mon Jan 26 2026

Skies are clear and temperatures are already down into the single digits. Winds are relatively light as of this evening, but even with a 5-10 mph wind, we are seeing wind chill values to around 10 below. Weak system working along the US/Canada border over the Great Lakes will help to tighten the sfc pressure gradient and bring a LLJ in over the Ohio Valley after midnight into tomorrow morning. Expect winds to increase and gust to around 20-25 mph, making it feel like it is 15 to 20 below in the pre-dawn hours and in the teens during the day tomorrow. Extreme Cold Warning is in effect through the overnight and most of tomorrow morning for the whole CWA.

The only change that was made to the current forecast was to lower dewpoint values. Current snowpack will help keep the air very dry. Other than that no additional changes to the forecast was made.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 804 PM EST Mon Jan 26 2026

Skies have cleared out for most of the area, revealing the snow covering from the weekend winter storm. Even as the skies were clearing this morning, our temperatures were dropping a little. Wind chills look good in the Cold Weather Advisory range. With sunset though expect low temperatures to drop to below zero, which likely will bring those wind chills down to Extreme Cold Warning criteria for most between -15 to -20.

An approaching mostly dry cold front will bring an increase in the winds aloft late tonight and we should see some of that mix down during the early to mid morning hours. Southerly winds will bring a brief warm up through the day...though by warm we are talking highs in the mid 20s in the northern forecast areas and around 30 for the KY/TN border region. Cannot rule out an isolated snow shower out of the associated deck of clouds coming through, but the chance for measurable snow is pretty low.

LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/

Issued at 155 PM EST Mon Jan 26 2026

Northwest flow will bring a second clipper system down into the region Wednesday evening. About 25 percent of ensemble members from the Euro/GFS/CMC bring at least a hundredth of an inch of QPF into the region, especially over the Bluegrass. NBM guidance was a lot less bullish with pops, so after discussing with neighbors will bump up pops a little account for some light additional snow chances.

The main story for the week will be the continued cold air in place. Highs Wed/Thu ahead of the clipper should be in the 20s for all but perhaps some of the southern IN counties. Fri/Sat we return to the teens for most, and we don't look to get back above freezing until perhaps Monday. Snowpack in place will help to keep those temperatures cold.

For the weekend, we will have to watch a mostly dry upper low dropping down from the Great Lakes. This feature may develop an Atlantic storm that we could get some fetch of moisture from Saturday night. For now will keep in the silent pops NBM gives us and watch for any westward trends on that low and the pull of moisture it could bring us.

AVIATION /06Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 1226 AM EST Tue Jan 27 2026

For the overnight period, VFR flight conditions are expected. A weather system passing to the north of the region will lead to an increase in LLWS overnight, mainly between 27/07-15Z. After sunrise, we'll see good mixing and wind gusts of 20-25kts will be possible across the region. Sfc cold front will then push in from the northwest during the afternoon with cigs dropping to MVFR levels. A few light snow showers/flurries will be possible across the NE sections of the forecast area, but coverage looks to light to mention in TAF package at this time.

LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

KY...Extreme Cold Warning until 11 AM EST /10 AM CST/ this morning for KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067-070>078-081-082. IN...Extreme Cold Warning until 11 AM EST /10 AM CST/ this morning for INZ076>079-083-084-089>092.