Strange, severe weather trends are on the way

Get your bread and milk while you can (maybe).

The National Weather Service in Paducah hosted a special weather advisory conference Friday morning, during which time they advised possible hazardous weather beginning Saturday morning.

According to Lead Meteorologist Justin Gibbs with the NWS, the area from Butler County all the way to western Kentucky will experience heavy rainfall through Saturday, and there is a potential risk of flash flooding.

“Poplar Bluff/Butler County is right on that line,” Gibbs explained. “We aren’t as concerned for that area right now, but if the radar changes, we will of course issue warnings for that area.

“But we do expect some rivers to flood in the entire storm watch area. Our main concern is water getting over roadways and washing them out. The primary area of concern at this time is western Kentucky.”

Though Poplar Bluff may get lucky and not see high water, Gibbs went on to explain there is the potential for severe winter weather early next week.

“There could be potential for flash freezing as temperatures plummet on Sunday,” Gibbs remarked. “We are going to see some really low wind chills. By Tuesday, the wind chill could be as low as 7 degrees. We also see a good chance of snow hitting the region.”

Gibbs said he couldn’t predict the accumulated snowfall at this time, but said some areas could get anywhere from 5-7 inches, while other areas could get only 1 inch of snow.

“The risk of accumulated snow is at around 60-70%” Gibbs said. “We are anticipating the snow to begin Tuesday afternoon and go through Wednesday afternoon.”

Gibbs encouraged people to pay attention to the forecast and to look for any changes as they are released in the coming days.