More fall-like temperatures with quiet weather into the late week

We saw quite the rain event Tuesday along the I-64 corridor with solid 4″ to 5″ totals from the Bluegrass Region back to the west as moderate to heavy rain fell the majority of the day. Lexington saw its wettest October day on record with 4.74″ of rain, which definitely took care of the dry to drought conditions we’ve seen the last month or so. The cold front responsible for all the rain moved out of the commonwealth Wednesday, allowing for some sunshine to slowly return to the region along with cooler air. A brisk northeast wind at 10 to 15 miles per hour brought the long awaited “fall-like” feel to the air as afternoon highs struggled to reach the upper 60s to around 70 degrees despite the sunshine.

Heading into Thursday it should be a chilly start to the day as early morning lows dip down into the low-40s so you’ll need a light jacket or sweater heading out the door. Winds will stay up a bit out of the northeast so it may feel even cooler for the early birds before the sunshine kicks in. As high pressure controls things over the Ohio Valley, look for a beautiful fall day with lots of sunshine, breezy conditions and afternoon highs only in the upper 60s, which is a bit below average for this time of the year.

As winds relax a bit into Friday morning, we could be set-up for our coldest morning of the season so far with a few upper 30s possible especially along and north of the I-64 corridor. The combination of clear skies and light winds will allow for some good radiational cooling, which means another morning of a jacket or sweater as we close out the week. The rest of the day looks good with more sunshine and afternoon highs crawling back into the low-70s. It should finally be “football weather” with a cooler evening for high school football on Friday as temperatures drop back through the 60s during the game. A weak mid-level wave should slide through the region to begin the weekend but this won’t have anything more than a few scattered clouds associated with it as afternoon highs remain pleasant for mid-October.

The quiet weather pattern rolls along into the second half of the weekend and beyond so conditions should be nice for any outdoor activities, including all the fall festivals happening around the region. Look for cool to chilly mornings lows remaining into the mid to upper 40s but with abundant sunshine, each afternoon should be a few degrees warmer heading into next week with afternoon highs recovering into the upper 70s in most spots. There is some indication we could even make a run back to the low 80s toward the middle part of the week so another round of early fall warmth could be on the way.