LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Friday is a Weather Impact Alert Day.
As of the latest weather model data, storms could fire as early as mid to late afternoon, with hail and spin-up tornadoes possible. As these storms congeal and become more linear, damaging winds will be an increased threat.
On Thursday, WHAS11 Chief Meteorologist Mallory Schnell and Former NWS Louisville meteorologist and WHAS11 contributor John Gordan talked about what people can expect on Friday as storms roll in.
"We have a big problem tomorrow. We have lines of storms moving in from the west to the east as early as 4 o'clock in our western counties," Gordon said.
He says the prime time for storms will be around 6-10 p.m. The Storm Prediction Center puts the Louisville Metro area at a moderate risk on Friday.
Gordon breaks down the individual threats.
"This is a huge wind maker threat. You will see these bowing segments; you'll see they look like a bow, like when you shoot a bow and arrow. They'll be coming from the west and all the way to the east. The whole of Kentucky is in primetime. That's as high as they go at 45% and it's hashed."
"Now, we're going to look at the tornado threat. That's a 10% hashed. That means somewhere in that area there is a 10% probability of an EF-2 tornado or higher," Gordon said. "I really think the main threat is west of I-65, out on the western side of Kentucky."
"Big, gargantuan hail will be in western Kentucky, southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana and the far northern part of Tennessee," Gordon said. "In that area, big hail. We're talking golf balls and larger. We hope that some of that will weaken as it moves east and turns into more of a wind threat."
Schnell said the WHAS11 Weather Impact Team is paying close attention to all severe weather threats in the area.
"Really, wind will be a big driver of this system for us," she said.
The WHAS11 Weather Impact Team will be with you through the harshest parts of the storm. They'll be streaming live on the free WHAS11+ app from 2-4 p.m. on Friday. You can download the app for free on your phone or smart TV.