Sneak preview of summer continues to close out the week

Enjoy it while it lasts as changes are on the way this weekend

3 hours ago

T.G. Shuck,

We’ve seen an amazing stretch of summer-like temperatures lately across Central and Eastern Kentucky and Thursday was no exception, even with a weak frontal boundary sliding through the region. This produced a bit of cloud cover and a few scattered showers and storms popped up as the boundary worked through but not everyone saw rain. What the majority of folks did see was yet another day with southwest winds pushing afternoon highs into the upper 70s and even a few low-80s south despite the scattered clouds and a few showers/storms dotting the landscape so it felt good once again by mid-April standards.

Friday is shaping up to be a fantastic finish to the week with yet another day filled with sunshine, breezy southwest winds and afternoon highs pushing back into the low to mid-80s across the board. You’ll definitely want to take advantage of the delightful weather since it will feel more like early June instead of mid-April, plus we’ve got some changes on the way as we head into the upcoming weekend.

A strong cold front will be rolling eastward as Saturday arrives so our chances for scattered rain and thunderstorms will be on the increase as the day wears on. If you have outdoor plans, you may have to make some adjustments especially if those are later in the day with the bulk of the rain and storm potential expected to be through the afternoon and lingering into the evening hours. Temperatures should spike up into the mid-70s prior to the arrival of the rain, then we’ll steadily cool off as the showers and storms work through the area. There is another low-end severe threat with a Level 1 risk for much of Central and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday as the more organized threat stays to our north into parts of Ohio. We could see some gusty winds and hail with any strong storm that fires. The big story to end the weekend will be much cooler air as a west to northwest wind brings a quick reality check in our temperatures. Afternoon highs should struggle into the upper 50s and 60s, even with some sunshine around so be prepared for that change for any plans you may have.

Look for a chilly start on Monday morning with temperatures dipping down into the mid to upper 30s so we could see a bit of patchy frost in spots. It should be a nice start to the week as we enjoy some sunshine along with tranquil weather as afternoon highs work back into the low to mid-60s. The cool area of high pressure will give way to the east heading into Tuesday so look for a nice return flow as southwest winds bring milder air back quickly. Afternoon highs will surge back into the low-70s into the middle part of next week as we see an very low end shower chance possibly with some moisture returning to the area.