Monday 9/17 Update

As expected, it's been a gloomy and showery Monday.  The heaviest rains have stayed south of I-40, although there have been a few localized spots that have picked up around an inch or so.  We'll continue to deal with a chance of showers and thunderstorms tonight, before a potent cold front sweeps through the area.  By 7AM tomorrow, the front will be through the area, bringing an end to rain chances:

Behind this front, the coolest air we've seen since last spring will come pouring in.....with temperatures struggling to get out of the 60's tomorrow.

As this cooler air moves in, we'll have some pretty stiff NNW winds to deal with.  15-20 mph winds will be common, with gusts 25-30 mph possible.  The NWS has issued a Lake Wind Advisory for Tuesday.

Tomorrow night we could be talking about record lows.  Forecast model guidance is showing 39 (NAM) & 42 (GFS) for overnight lows.  We should have optimum conditions for radiational cooling, with clear skies and light winds, so I certainly wouldn't be surprised if the upper 30's panned out.  The record low for Paducah on Wednesday morning is 41...the record for Cape Girardeau is 40.  If we did drop to 39 or lower tomorrow night, it would be the earliest occurrence of 30's in Paducah (by 2 days).

Sunshine returns for Wednesday and Thursday, helping temperatures warm up closer to normal (Avg high 82/ avg low 58).  We'll remain below average through the week because of a big trough over the Great Lakes region:

By Friday, the next cold front will be knocking on our door:

This front will be a little slower, and won't have much moisture or upper-level energy to work will, so while we'll have small rain chances in the forecast for Friday & Saturday, the more significant rain will stay to our north.  Like tonight's front, this one will also pack a pretty good punch, with more chilly air set to pour in for the weekend:

Looks like highs will be staying in the lower 70's for the weekend, with lows in the low/mid 40's.  All of this just in time for the arrival of fall at 9:49AM Saturday!