Quiet weather as we close out the week

It was a beautiful Thursday across Central and Eastern Kentucky with lots of sunshine and pleasantly cool temperatures around the region. With an area of high pressure building in from the west, a steady north breeze continued to push cooler air into the commonwealth so temperatures struggled to get beyond the low to mid-60s for afternoon highs despite all the sunshine. It was still a pleasant spring day to be outdoors and we’ll see more of the same as we head into Friday.

Look for more nice weather to close out the week as the aforementioned high pressure system drifts off to our east. This will keep more sunshine around but will also shift our winds around to the southwest, helping to push milder air back into the area. However it will be a chilly start to the day with temperatures in the upper 30s and low-40s so some of the sheltered valley areas could see a bit of patchy frost so keep that in mind, especially given how late in the spring it is now. Afternoon highs should recover either side of the 70 degree mark and a few high clouds could begin to drift in toward sunset.

A fast moving wave of low pressure will roll through the Ohio Valley Friday night and into Saturday morning bringing a quick hitting chance of showers and a few rumbles of thunder. Fortunately the rain should be gone by the mid to late morning and even though rainfall totals will be light, we’ll take what we can get given the drought. The remainder of Saturday looks good for any outdoor weekend plans you may have as afternoon highs climb back into the mid-70s, which is right around average for this time of the year. Heading into Mother’s Day another wave of energy and a frontal boundary will drop into the commonwealth so it appears we’ll have to dodge some rain drops as we celebrate all the Mom’s out there. Right now it doesn’t look like a total washout for Sunday so just keep the umbrella handy. Afternoon highs still look good with most locations reaching the mid-70s.

Heading into next week we should see another dry stretch of weather for a few days as another area of high pressure builds in from the northwest. Other than a stray shower early Monday morning, the new week should bring dry and pleasant conditions with slightly cooler temperatures once more as afternoon highs back down into the mid-60s. The dry weather should continue into Tuesday with a small bump in temperatures as we jump back into the upper 60s under partly sunny skies. The overall unsettled pattern will continue into the middle of next week with another wave of low pressure bringing some additional rain chances to the area into Wednesday as we try to chip away at the rainfall deficit this spring. The latest Drought Monitor fortunately doesn’t show things much worse compared to last week although it doesn’t factor in the rain we saw late Tuesday and into Wednesday so hopefully we’ll see some improvement soon.