12/30 - 3:30pm - A Good Day to Fly a Kite in Kentucky

Gusty winds will continue through this afternoon in Louisville and most of Central Kentucky as a storm system in the Midwest creates quite the pressure gradient for strong winds. Winds at 5,000 feet (850 mb in weather geek speak) are high right now, surpassing 50 kts or 60 mph as you'll see in the orange shade on the left image. The peeks of sunshine we're seeing are allowing these winds to mix down to the surface due to heating, and that's why we're having the higher wind gusts.

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for areas just south of Louisville since wind gusts have been hitting the criteria for this down that way. Even without the Wind Advisory, Louisville could see gusts surpassing 30 mph this afternoon as a cold front continues to approach from the west.

Check out some of the wind speeds and gusts from around the region as of 3pm. I've highlighted the wind gusts that are close to Wind Advisory criteria in orange and the ones that exceed the criteria (40 mph) in red:

Louisville Airport:   SW 17 mph, gusting to 24 mph

Bowman Field:         SW 18 mph, gusting to 29 mph

SE Louisville:          SW  9 mph,  gusting to 26 mph
Fort Knox:               SW 23 mph, gusting to 33 mph

Lexington:                SW 21 mph, gusting to 39 mph

Frankfort:                 SW 23 mph, gusting to 44 mph

Bowling Green:        SW 17 mph, gusting to 29 mph

More cities and observations are available hourly on the NWS's State Weather Roundup. A few light showers will be possible this evening in Louisville and surrounding areas as this front moves through.