Quiet and feeling more like mid-February into the late week

Afternoon highs should be close to average into the low to mid-40s

3 hours ago

T.G. Shuck,

After a spring-like Tuesday that brought significant snow and ice melting to the area thanks to temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s, we saw a bit of a reality check Wednesday across Central and Eastern Kentucky with it feeling a little more like the early and mid part of February. In the wake of a departing front, a light northwest flow allowed cooler air to filter back into the region. Fortunately we did enjoy some sunshine for the midweek, although it didn’t do much to warm things up as afternoon highs reached the low 40s, which is just a few degrees below average for this time of the year.

High pressure will build into the Ohio Valley heading into the late week so look for quiet weather across the area. After starting the day in the mid-20s (watch out for some spots of black ice from the recent snow melt), we should be in store for another fairly pleasant February day on Thursday. After some morning sunshine, we could see a few scattered clouds building in as a weak wave of energy in the mid-levels rotates through the Ohio Valley. There shouldn’t be much if any moisture with it so conditions look to remain dry. Afternoon highs once again will hang in the low 40s in most spots with a few mid-40s down south.

The tranquil weather pattern will hang on to close out the week on Friday and head into Valentine’s Day weekend. With surface high pressure holding steady over the commonwealth and drifting to the southeast a bit, look for a slight bump in temperatures as afternoon highs climb back into the upper 40s Friday with plenty of sunshine around so it should be a really nice way to close out the week. On Valentine’s Day, Mother Nature should cooperate for the most part despite an area of low pressure developing off to our southwest, which will bring some unsettled weather our way before the end of the weekend. Overall it should be a nice day for any holiday plans with a mix of clouds and sunshine and highs into the low-50s on Saturday.

The aforementioned wave of low pressure is forecast to slide to the south of the commonwealth on Sunday, increasing rain chances across the board to end the weekend. While the latest data has trended the heaviest rain a bit farther to the south, Saturday night and into Sunday should be rather damp across the area with some steady rain expected on occasion. While most locations now look to see between 0.50″ to 1″ rainfall totals, our far southern counties could see a bit more. Given the recent snow melt, this rain could create some minor flooding issues in the typical spots so keep that in mind this weekend. The good news is that we aren’t looking at any big push of cooler air behind the departing system into Presidents Day and beyond early next week. In fact, look for another warming trend as afternoon highs climb back through the 50s and even make a run at the 60 degree mark by the middle part of next week!