Rain chances ramp up along with more wind on Friday

The delightful early November weather continued across Central and Eastern Kentucky on Thursday as another area of high pressure built into the Ohio Valley behind a departing cold front. With plenty of sunshine in place and a light east wind, afternoon highs reached the upper 50s to around 60 degrees which was about 10 degree cooler than what we enjoyed mid-week but was still very pleasant for this time of the year.

Closing out the week on Friday another storm system looks to head our way, this time with a better chance for rain along with it. Winds will increase and be gusty out of the southwest ahead of the boundary, helping to push afternoon highs back into the mid to upper 60s. Winds should gust 30 to 35 miles per hour so a lot of the leaves will eb blowing off trees as we’ve hit the peak of our fall foliage. A broken line of showers and a few thunderstorms is expected through the mid to late afternoon and there is a low end severe storm threat for the region. The Storm Prediction Center has the entire area under a Level 1 severe risk (out of 5) with a small area down toward Lake Cumberland under a Level 2 threat. That part of the viewing area has the best chance of seeing some large hail and a quick spin-up tornado so be weather aware Friday afternoon. Some of the high school football playoff games could be impacted, especially across the south and east Friday evening.

Heading into the weekend we’ll be in between systems with a dry Saturday on tap across the commonwealth. Look for a mix of clouds and sunshine with afternoon highs into the low to mid-60s so it should be a decent day for outdoor activities. The timing should be ideal with Kentucky and Florida out at Kroger Field at 7:30 pm Saturday evening with temperatures cooling down through the 50s as the game wears on so dress for pleasant “football weather” if you are heading out to the game. Yet another front will drop into the Ohio Valley Saturday night and into Sunday, bringing a few showers but more importantly a legitimate shot of colder air to the region. Sunday looks blustery and raw with breezy northwest winds, a few scattered showers and temperatures struggling to get into the upper 40s for highs.

We could potentially see our first snowflakes of the season Sunday night into Monday as some mid to upper level energy rotates through the Great Lakes. This set-up is pretty typical for the fall season here in the commonwealth with a few flurries or a burst of a snow shower occurring with basically no impact expected. The highest elevations of southeastern Kentucky could see a bit of accumulation on the grassy areas/elevated surfaces so that’s something to watch. All this just a reminder that winter is right around the corner. You’ll need the heavy coat from start to finish on Monday with a breezy and cold day on the way. Afternoon highs will struggle to reach the upper 30s and with a stiff breeze expected, wind chills could be down into the 20s during the daylight hours. The chilly air should stay in place through Veterans Day next Tuesday with highs back in the 40s before we see a more significant recovery by mid-week.