A few scattered showers and storms into the mid-week

It’s been a great start to the week across Central and Eastern Kentucky with tranquil conditions and pleasant temperatures with Tuesday being no exception. With high pressure still in control and drifting to our east, we enjoyed abundant sunshine around the area along with a southwest breeze, which helped push even milder air into the region. Most locations saw afternoon highs topping out in the mid-70s so it was a delightful day to be outside.

A cold front will slide into the Ohio Valley on Wednesday, increasing our chances for scattered showers and thunderstorms. While it may be a bit damp at times, there isn’t a significant amount of moisture with this system so we aren’t looking at overly high rainfall totals which is unfortunate given the on-going spring drought across the region. High temperatures should reach the low to mid-70s with a few isolated storms lingering in the east through the afternoon. Once the front moves through, the rain chances will diminish and temperatures should drop off into the 60s toward sunset.

Our weather should be quiet once again as we roll into the late week as another round of slightly cooler air filters into the commonwealth in the wake of the departing front. With high pressure building in from the west, expect more sunshine and pleasant temperatures on Thursday with afternoon highs backing off into the mid to upper 60s. More sunshine is on the way to close out the week Friday as we see a bit of a return flow on the backside of high pressure, which will allow temperatures to recover into the mid-70s as a few clouds increase late day ahead of an approaching wave of energy from the northwest.

The big story this weekend will be the return of summer-like air as a big ridge of warmth slides into the eastern part of the country. Despite a few scattered showers and storms around on Saturday with the aforementioned wave of energy sliding by, afternoon highs will surge all the way into the mid-80s on Saturday so it will feel great to be outside. You may need to check conditions for any outdoor plans with the low end storm chances in play. The model data is trending drier and hotter for Sunday as breezy southwest winds push some of the warmest air we’ve seen so far this year into the Ohio Valley. With a good bit of sunshine around, afternoon highs should roll into the upper 80s to close out the weekend with a few spots possibly hitting 90 especially west of Lexington. Look for more of the same with highs around 90 degrees to begin next week as a cold front approaches from the northwest so a late day storm or two can’t be ruled out. The bottom line is that it will feel like summer again finally as temperatures climb to near record levels during that window into early next week.