Rain chances return just in time for Halloween

It was another fantastic day of weather across Central and Eastern Kentucky Wednesday as a strong south wind and sunshine pushed temperatures to near record levels. Afternoon highs rolled into the upper 70s and low 80s once again as winds gusted 20 to 25 miles per hour. Our extended stretch of dry weather that we’ve enjoyed essentially all of October will come to an end, at least briefly as we close out the month.

Halloween could be a little “spooky” for all the ghosts and goblins as a cold front slowly works into the Ohio Valley. It should be another unseasonably warm day with afternoon back in the mid to upper 70s but those readings should occur earlier in the afternoon because the clouds and rain cool things off later on. Of course the biggest question is the potential impact of the rain (and a few rumbles of thunder) on trick or treating Thursday evening. At this point based on the latest data, there should be at least a few scattered showers around the area during that critical window between 6pm and 8pm so the kiddos will need to take some rain gear along. Hopefully the showers are few and far between and we don’t catch a wash-out of any kind. There is a chance that areas of far Eastern Kentucky may see a later arrival of rain a little deeper in the evening but overall be prepared for scattered showers across the region. On the flip side we could use the rain given the dry October we’ve seen and it looks like many several spots could pick up a half inch of rain or more.

Kicking off November on Friday the frontal boundary will move eastward taking the majority of the rain with it, although a few scattered showers will be possible during the morning hours, especially across Southern Kentucky. It will feel much more like the heart of fall with cooler air filtering into the region. Afternoon highs will back off into the mid-60s with some sunshine expected later in the day. It should be a pleasantly cool evening for high school football as the regular season wraps up. The weekend is looking nice to start with more sunshine and temperatures a few degrees warmer into the upper 60s for highs on Saturday. It should be a nice day to get out and enjoy many of the fall festivals across the region.

Another slow moving system will be just to our west for the second half of the weekend and into early next week but as the high pressure to our east hangs tough, it should be mainly dry with just a low end shower chance especially across the western half of the state. The big story will be yet another round of unseasonably warm air for early November. Afternoon highs will creep back into the upper 70s by Monday with more of the same for Election Day! There could be a few showers around as you get out to vote but we aren’t looking at a wash-out by any means. A better chance for organized rain should arrive by the middle part of next week with highs remaining in the 70s.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Fair skies, breezy and mild. Lows in the mid-60s.
HALLOWEEN: Breezy and warm, showers return. Highs in the upper-70s.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Cooler with scattered showers. Lows in the low-50s.