A few natural fireworks for Independence Day
Scattered storms will be possible on the 4th but it shouldn't be a wash-out for the holiday.
It definitely felt like early July across Central and Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday as we rapidly approach Independence Day and the long holiday weekends for many folks. Some early cloudiness gave way to some sunshine which really allowed afternoon highs to heat up as expected. Most locations topped out in the upper 80s and low 90s and with higher dewpoints our “feel-like” temperatures were close to 100 degrees in a few locations. A frontal boundary is off to our northwest and this will be our main player relative to our weather heading into the 4th of July.
Scattered showers and storms will some localized heavy rain will be possible during the early hours of Thursday with the best chances coming across the northern half of the state. With some much moisture around, it will be easy to get some heavy downpours going so some localized flooding and gusty winds will be possible. Expect a very muggy start to the day so we’ll see less than ideal conditions for the Bluegrass 10K in downtown Lexington on Thursday morning. Make sure you hydrate properly for that or any other outdoor activity you may have on the agenda for the 4th.
Another round of storms looks possible into the afternoon hours as highs reach the upper 80s. The good news is that a lot of the data is indicating it won’t be a wash-out or an all day rain so this should bode well for fireworks displays Thursday evening with a break in the action expected. So the bottom line is don’t cancel any holiday plans, just be prepared to dodge a few storms on occasion. We do have a low-end Level 1 severe risk (out of 5) for the area with damaging winds being the main threat with any strong storm that develops.
Jumping ahead to Friday another wave of low pressure will drag a cold front through the area so additional rain and storms will be possible. Similar to Thursday I think the activity will come in waves and won’t be an all day deal with more warm and humid conditions persisting as highs reach the upper 80s. The good news is that the front will sweep a lot of the higher humidity out of the area into Saturday and Sunday so the second half of the long holiday weekend is looking much better. Look for dry days on both Saturday and Sunday with highs in the mid to upper 80s. Saturday looks to be the pick day of that stretch so get out and enjoy it.
Even though the timing is less than ideal, we could use some rainfall given how dry things have become across the area. Heading into the early part of next week it appears we’ll shift into a more typical early/mid July pattern with a few isolated to scattered storm chances and afternoon highs into the upper 80s, which is right around average for this time of the year. We’ll have to see if any of the remnant moisture from Beryl gets swept up in the upper level flow and slides toward our area. Stay tuned for that. Happy 4th of July!
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Muggy with scattered storms, especially north. Lows in the low to mid-70s.
THURSDAY: Humid with more storms. Highs in the upper-80s.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Warm and muggy with isolated storms. Lows in the low-70s.
