A brief break from our winter thaw into the mid-week

Temperatures will back off slightly with highs in the low 40s

1 hour ago

T.G. Shuck,

It felt like a virtual “heat wave” with February across Central and Eastern Kentucky Tuesday as a surge of milder air wired into the region ahead of an approaching cold front. With a breezy southwest wind in place, afternoon highs surged into the low to mid-60s here in the Bluegrass, with even warmer temperatures down south as readings surged into the low 70s!. This went a long way to literally breaking up and melting the ice and snow that has plagued the area for the last several weeks. In fact they were the warmest temperatures we’ve seen across the board in literally a month and just 1 week after 2026 began! Hopefully you enjoyed the break from the persistent winter cold as we’ll take a brief step back into the mid-week.

The aforementioned frontal system will drop through the Ohio Valley so look for some chilly rain showers through Tuesday evening into early hours of Wednesday. While the precipitation should be in liquid form, temperatures will start the day around the freezing mark Wednesday so there could be a few slick spots thanks to the moisture on the roadways so keep that in mind. High pressure will build in as the day wears on so look for a good bit of sunshine to go along with cooler temperatures. A steady northwest wind will push some chilly air back into the commonwealth so afternoon highs will only recover into the low 40s, which isn’t bad considering what we’ve dealt with the last several weeks.

Look for a mainly dry and chilly stretch of weather into the late week as the area of high pressure settles right overhead on Thursday. After beginning the day in the mid-20s, temperatures will only recover into the upper 30s and low 40s with more cloud cover expected over the region. This is due to a weak mid-level wave of energy that will slide through the region Thursday evening and overnight but it looks moisture starved so we could potentially squeeze out a few flurries during that window. Look for some sunshine to return as we close out the week on Friday with a bit of a southwest flow pushing afternoon highs back into the mid to upper 40s, which is right around average for the middle part of the month.

Heading into Valentine’s Day on Saturday a storm system to our southwest will be getting its act together but we should have a dry day despite some increasing clouds with afternoon highs in the upper 40s and low 50s. If you have dinner plans for the holiday that evening, you may want to take an umbrella just to be on the safe side as a few light rain showers may be possible, especially for areas west of Lexington. The aforementioned storm system should slide by to our south on Sunday so our rain chances will be on the increase. The data isn’t synced up with the placement of the heaviest rain potential but right now it appears Southern and Southwestern Kentucky has the best chance of seeing 1″-2″ totals. Fortunately temperatures will be warm enough for this to be an all rain even across the board as afternoon highs reach the low 50s. After this system moves out, it’s back to quiet weather for Presidents Day and beyond as temperatures stay above average and highs climb back into the mid to upper 50s.