Summer warmth rolls along into the late week
Highs may surge into the mid-80s in a few spots Thursday
It was an unseasonably warm start to April across Central and Eastern Kentucky (no joke) as the summer-like feel stayed locked in Wednesday. A steady southwest wind continued to push warmer air into the commonwealth and with a mix of clouds and sunshine, afternoon highs climbed into the upper 70s and low 80s. A slow moving frontal system to our north crept a little closer to the area, which helped generate a few scattered showers. A few of these storms reached strong to even severe levels during the afternoon hours, cranking out gusty to damaging winds and hail. The strong threat will continue through Wednesday evening with the northern half of the state in a more favorable area closer to the frontal boundary. Our overall rain chances should briefly back down a bit into Thursday.
The aforementioned front will slide back to the north as a warm front heading into Thursday. This should set us up for a mainly dry Thursday as the best chance for showers and storms remains well to our north close to the boundary, although an isolated storm or two can’t be ruled out during the warmth of the afternoon. With more sunshine and a breezy southwest wind remaining in place, afternoon highs should surge all the way into the low and mid-80s so it looks like another summer-like day across the commonwealth. The record high for Lexington on Thursday is 84 degrees set back in 1946 so there is a chance we could get close to tying that mark given the set-up. You’ll definitely want to spend some time outdoors if you can.
A wave of low pressure sliding through the Great Lakes on Good Friday should drag a cold front close enough to the commonwealth for a few showers and storms to return to the area as we wrap up the week. We aren’t looking at an all day rain and the activity should be scattered, which is good news for the opening of the spring meet at Keeneland but definitely take the rain gear if you are heading out to the track. Temperatures will continue to be well above average with afternoon highs in the upper 70s and low-80s. Rolling into Easter weekend, another cold front will approach from the west as we get deeper into the day so more showers and storms will be on the table for Saturday. The model data isn’t synced up with the arrival of the front but at this point it appears the later we get in the day, the better the storm chances will be. We’ll squeeze in one more warm day with highs in the upper 70s to around 80 degrees before we flip our weather pattern after the front moves through.
Look for a much cooler Easter Sunday across Central and Eastern Kentucky as drier air works back into the region behind the departing cold front. Most if not all the rain should be winding down by the morning hours so we should be in pretty good shape for the majority of the day. The biggest change will be temperatures as afternoon highs only reach the mid-50s, which is a noticeable change compared to the warm stretch we are currently enjoying. Look for tranquil conditions heading into early next week with some chilly mornings with temperatures in the 30s as we see slowly moderating temperatures with afternoon highs back into the low-60s by the middle of next week.
ABC 36 Storm Team 3 Day Forecast
Wednesday night: Storms end late, breezy and mild. Lows in the low-60s. Wind: S 10-15 mph.
Thursday: Breezy and warm, isolated P.M. storms. Highs in the low to mid-80s. Wind: SW 15-20 mph.
Thursday night: Mild with showers and storms returning. Lows in the mid-60s. Wind: S 10-15 mph.
