Western Kentucky Under Enhanced Severe Weather Risk Sunday – Damaging Winds, Tornadoes Possible

I wondered when all this late winter warmth would translate into a possible severe weather event that rises above the level of our recent ones. Today, I stopped wondering.

Severe Weather Risk for Sunday, March 15th

The National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center has placed a large portion of the Ohio Valley under an Enhanced/Level 3 risk for severe weather this Sunday evening. Extreme southeastern Missouri, southeastern Illinois, southern Indiana, and western Kentucky will all be affected. According to the NWS, an Enhanced threat indicates that there is "high confidence that several storms will contain damaging winds, severe hail, and/or a tornado potential."

Our severe threat for Sunday evening was raised to Level 3 because of an increasing threat of damaging straight-line winds. Spin-up tornadoes and some large hail cannot be ruled out, either.

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The NWS is saying those damaging winds could reach 60 to 70 miles per hour. They're also saying that, right now, instability does not look impressive, but the amount of wind expected means none of us should let our guard down.

There is also the possibility of up to an inch of rain, but since the storm system is expected to move through the area quickly, flooding isn't a concern.

The strength of this front will be evident in the aftermath, as we are looking at temperatures taking a nose-dive into the 20s by Monday and possibly the teens by Tuesday.

This isn't looking like an overnight event, but update the batteries in your radio, just the same, and we will continue to keep you informed.