July heat builds back in this weekend and beyond
With highs well into the 90s, heat index values topping the 100 degree mark may become an issue beginning Sunday
It was a toasty finish to the week across Central and Eastern Kentucky with a mix of clouds and sunshine and afternoon highs in the upper 80s and low 90s in most locations. While the humidity levels creep up a bit on Friday afternoon, they weren’t off the charts but as you know it doesn’t take much this time of the year to make it feel pretty uncomfortable. A weak wave to our north late Thursday managed to squeeze off a few bonus showers in the Bluegrass on Thursday evening and we saw a few more isolated cells around Friday with additional upper level energy to our west helping to spark those. This pattern will continue into the weekend with the big story being the increasingly hot temperatures and high heat indices.
Our weather should feel every bit of mid-July this weekend across the region as high pressure continues to dominate, even though we’ll see a pop-up shower or storm from time to time. Afternoon highs should make a run into the low to mid-90s across the board so with it being a summer weekend and plenty of outdoor activities on tap, be smart by hydrating and finding some air conditioning whenever possible to take the edge off the heat.
The unseasonably hot temperatures will roll along into Sunday and early next week with afternoon highs legitimately running into the mid-90s with a few locations possibly flirting with the upper 90s. Even though humidity levels won’t be crazy high, it doesn’t take much when air temperatures are so high to get us into the danger zone for high heat index values. Right now it appears Sunday through Tuesday could featured heat indices over the 100 degree mark so it’s possible we could see Heat Advisories issued for all or parts of the area as the weekend progresses. The isolated afternoon and early evening storms will be the only temporary relief from the heat.
We do have some changes on the way for the mid and latter part of next week as a frontal boundary drops to the south out of the Great Lakes. This should provide us with our best opportunity for some decent showers and storms heading into Wednesday. It still remains to be seen how long the front hangs around as some of the data is indicating it could stall out, which would keep additional chances in play later next week. Let’s hope for that since we need the rain. The other aspect of the front is that it will usher out the expected heat that will have been in place for several days so we could actually be looking at temperatures at or slightly below average heading toward next weekend so that’s something to keep an eye on.
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
FRIDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear, warm and muggy. Lows in the upper-60s to around 70 degrees.
SATURDAY: Hot and humid, isolated P.M. storms. Highs in the low to mid-90s.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Fair skies, still warm and muggy. Lows in the low-70s.
