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.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/

Issued at 423 AM EST Mon Jan 26 2026

Currently, low level moisture remains over southern Indiana and central Kentucky. The resulting layer of stratus is continuing to drop some flurries. Clear skies sit just to the west over Illinois and western Kentucky. With northwest winds in place, cold air advection continues to drop temperatures into the single digits and teens. This mornings lows are expected to go below zero in parts of southern Indiana to around 10 near Clinton County.

Today, a shortwave moving along the upper trough will help to clear skies. This feature is being followed by a small upper ridge. Skies clear from west to east, but continued northwest winds limit temperatures to the single digits in the northwestern part of the CWA to near 20 degrees in the southeastern part. Most areas will see wind chills remain below zero with the warmest areas only reaching around 5 degrees above zero. This is the reason the Cold Air Advisory will remain in place all day today.

Tonight, a surface high passing northeast through the Tennessee Valley will cause our winds to back towards the southwest. We will start to see some warm air advection as it remains mixy all night, but with the snow on the ground and cold temperatures in place, lows still reach to around -5 degrees in most places with a few areas seeing around 5 degrees in the far southeast (Clinton County). Wind chills are going to continue to be cold. We will likely see some areas hit -15 to -20 degrees where there is snow in the northern half of the CWA, but areas in the southern half will see around -2 to -15 degrees. An Extreme Cold Warning is in place and will remain into Tuesday morning.

LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/

Issued at 423 AM EST Mon Jan 26 2026

Tuesday, with a ridge of surface high pressure extending from Alabama northeast, southwest winds and warm air advection remain in place over the Lower Ohio Valley. This will raise temperatures into the low 20s to low 30s across the CWA, but by Tuesday night, northwest flow pushes a surface high from the Northern Plains towards the CWA, returning northwest surface winds. This will return high temperatures to the upper teens to mid 20s through at least the start of the weekend. Lows during the same period are expected in the single digits on either side of zero.

Through the upcoming week, northwest flow remains directed at the Lower Ohio Valley. Besides keeping the region fairly cool with surface high pressure pushing arctic air southeast, it could push a clipper or two towards southern Indiana and central Kentucky, but with little to no moisture expected for any system to work with, these systems will likely only be able to produce flurries and not much more. The timing of one of these isolated little systems also continues to bounce around from run to run, so basically, the rest of the week looks uneventful.

AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 648 AM EST Mon Jan 26 2026

As a layer of stratus continues to slowly push off to the east, some remaining flurries will be observed at SDF, LEX, and RGA, but to the west, clearing skies have already reached HNB. This clearing will continue eastward today. Late in the period, expect to see low level wind shear to begin working in from the west affecting HNB and SDF before the end of the period.

LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

KY...Winter Storm Warning until 7 AM EST /6 AM CST/ this morning for KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067-070>078-081-082. Cold Weather Advisory until 7 PM EST /6 PM CST/ this evening for KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067-070>078-081-082. Extreme Cold Warning from 7 PM EST /6 PM CST/ this evening to 11 AM EST /10 AM CST/ Tuesday for KYZ023>043-045>049- 053>057-061>067-070>078-081-082. IN...Winter Storm Warning until 7 AM EST /6 AM CST/ this morning for INZ076>079-083-084-089>092. Cold Weather Advisory until 7 PM EST /6 PM CST/ this evening for INZ076>079-083-084-089>092. Extreme Cold Warning from 7 PM EST /6 PM CST/ this evening to 11 AM EST /10 AM CST/ Tuesday for INZ076>079-083-084- 089>092.