textproduct: Louisville

KEY MESSAGES

* Mainly dry and very cold through Tuesday. Wind chills in the single digits and teens for multiple hours each day.

* Light rain and snow possible Wednesday and Wednesday night.

* Active weather pattern with additional wintry precipitation possible next weekend.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH TUESDAY/

Issued at 317 PM EST Sun Jan 18 2026

Broad troughing remains over the eastern CONUS today. A shortwave trough will move through the Ohio Valley this evening, bringing increased low and mid level clouds. A cold front will move through Monday morning, which will bring another shot of cold air. Low temperatures will be in the mid-too-upper teens. Winds will increase along and behind the cold front. These winds will make it feel colder, bringing wind chills down to the single digits or even slightly below zero over southern Indiana. Additionally, light flurries may move over southern Indiana this evening.

High pressure will build over the region, helping to keep conditions dry. Continued northwesterly flow will keep weak CAA in the region. High temperatures will likely remain in the 20s. Winds will remain gusty through the day, which will make it feel quite blustery. Highest wind chills in the afternoon will only be in the teens.

Clear skies and light winds will help the region to efficiently cool Monday night. Tuesday morning lows will be in the single digits over most of the region. This will bring wind chills down to -4/-5 along and north of I-64 and single digits to the south.

High pressure will slowly shift east of the region on Tuesday, which will increase WAA into the region. Temperatures will increase through the day and highs will likely be around freezing.

LONG TERM /TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/

Issued at 317 PM EST Sun Jan 18 2026

Tuesday Night - Thursday...

Another shortwave is expected to move through on late Wednesday into Thursday. Ahead of the system, heights will increase on Wednesday, which will lead to highs in the 40s. A modest LLJ will move over the region in the afternoon, which will promote breezy conditions. Winds may gust up to 25-30mph in the afternoon. Continued WAA into the region will increase the moisture profile. As the trough and cold front move into the region, ample lift will be available to present moisture bringing scattered showers. Precip will likely fall as a mix of rain and snow, and keeps QPF quite light.

Thursday Night - The Weekend...

High pressure will build in behind the cold front bringing a brief respite from precipitation on Thursday night and part of the day Friday.

Model spread amongst deterministic and ensemble guidance is quite large beyond Friday, given multiple systems and an active weather pattern. There has been a consistent signal of another trough moving through at some point over the weekend. This would bring another round of precip and colder air behind it. Though precip type and intensity varies greatly at this time. Some guidance shows the potential for a significant system, which may bring snow and ice. We will continue to watch this trend over the next several forecast periods.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z TUESDAY/

Issued at 712 PM EST Sun Jan 18 2026

VFR conditions are expected through the forecast period. A layer of mid-level clouds are working east through the region currently, but skies will begin to clear from the southwest to northeast. Scattered to broken clouds could linger into the morning hours across the northern TAF sites, including SDF, LEX, and RGA. West winds will remain breezy tonight before gusts begin increasing near sunrise.

LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

KY...None. IN...None.