Mother Nature continues to pound Kentucky. The highest snowfall rates in the commonwealth will be between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday, the National Weather Service said.

Rain showers turn to snow late Saturday night into Sunday ahead of bitter cold temperatures. Meteorologist Dillon Gaudet has the latest.

“We are seeing somewhere in between 10 to 20 patients each day in the Children’s Hospital who need admissions,” Chief Medical Officer for Kentucky Children’s Hospital Dr. Lindsay Ragsdale said. It’s one of many reasons why Kentucky is one of four states ranked high for respiratory illness activity by the CDC.

A number of states are seeing a spike in hospital visits caused by respiratory illnesses as we enter the New Year.

As we are basking in the sun and much warmer temperatures this weekend, Mother Nature and old man Winter have more dangerously cold temperatures on the way.

We need you to be careful to make sure that we make it through these couple of days and everybody gets through it safely,” Gov. Andy Beshear said.

Forecasters say Winter Storm Blair, blanketing much of Kentucky Sunday afternoon with thick snow ahead of sleet and ice, could also bring thundersnow. Thundersnow is not a common occurrence in winter storms. As its name would suggest, thundersnow occurs when lightning happens within a snowstorm, according to the National Weather Service.