More late August heat for the midweek
Afternoon highs should continue to climb well into the 90s with near record highs possible
It’s definitely felt like late August the last few days here in Central and Eastern Kentucky and Tuesday was no exception. With a big bubble of heat over the Central Plains drifting eastward we saw plenty of sunshine as afternoon highs climbed into the low and mid-90s. Once again the saving grace was the lack of any high humidity which kept heat index values in check. Make no mistake about it though, it is definitely hot in that direct sunlight and that’s going to continue to be the case heading into the mid and late week with the hottest temperatures yet to come.
Wednesday should featured more of the same with sunshine and afternoon highs creeping into the mid-90s with a few upper 90s possible here in the Bluegrass. There will be a frontal boundary just to our north so an isolated storm or two can’t be ruled out north of I-64 although it appears the best chances will remain north of the river. Any debris cloudiness could have a small impact on where temperatures top out but overall we are still expecting a very hot day. Taking a look at record high temperatures over the next few days shows that Thursday is the most likely day we could tie the record high for the date with 98 degrees expected here in Lexington. The “Muggy-cast” continues to show reasonably humidity levels Wednesday and Thursday but with temperatures so hot, it won’t take much to get the heat index to climb into the low 100s for a few hours during the afternoon highs.
It should be a bit more muggy toward the weekend but not as hot as our next storm system rolls in from the northwest. The latest data is shows another hot Friday with scattered storms chances ramping up through the afternoon hours. Unlike last Friday when conditions were ideal for high school football, the heat and the storms could be a little problematic for games across the area so that’s something we’ll monitor over the next few days.
Heading into Labor Day weekend the cold front will slowly drop through the Ohio Valley and it now appears that scattered showers and storm chances will be sticking around for the majority of the day and may even linger into the evening hours. Of course this is relevant with Kentucky taking on Southern Miss in the home opener at Kroger Field on Saturday evening so it is definitely a forecast worth monitoring heading toward the weekend.
A secondary front will drop through the area on Sunday behind the initial front bringing a nice shot of drier and milder air moving in just in time for Labor Day on Monday. With the heat and humidity being swept out of the region it should be super comfortable for the holiday with afternoon highs only in the low 80s with low humidity and pleasant air. The dry and seasonably warm pattern should hang around for the first few days of September at least.
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and warm. Lows in the upper-60s to around 70 degrees.
WEDNESDAY: More sunshine, another hot one….a stray storm north Highs in the mid to upper-90s.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear, warm and quiet. Lows in the upper-60s.
