Daily storm chances continue into the mid-week

We saw more of the same Tuesday with typical early July conditions across Central and Eastern Kentucky as a warm and humid air-mass stayed camped out over the region. While most locations saw plenty of sunshine, a slow moving upper level system helped fire a few scattered showers and thunderstorms through the afternoon hours. Given the lack of upper level winds, the showers and storms were slow movers so a few locations saw some locally heavy downpours. We had a heavy rain producing storm camp out over southeastern Fayette County mid-afternoon Tuesday, which dumped 2″-3″ of rain over a few isolated areas and created some flooding problems. Temperatures topped out into the mid to upper 80s, which is right around average for this time of the year.

Look for a repeat performance into Wednesday as the upper level energy slowly creeps eastward through the Ohio Valley. We should see a bit of patchy fog to begin the day but once that dissipates, most locations should see a partly to mostly sunny day as afternoon highs climb back into the mid to upper-80s. As things warm up through the day, a few pop-up showers and storms will be on the table with locally heavy rain possible given the slow movement of anything that manages to develop.

The “rise and repeat” forecast should roll along into the late week with more afternoon storms Thursday along with warm and humid conditions. Temperatures may be just higher with most of the area making a run into the upper 80s for afternoon highs. With the plenty of humidity hanging over the region, it will definitely feel on the hot side so slow it down during the hottest part of the day. By Friday a legitimate cold front to our northwest will begin to drop into the Ohio Valley, bringing a better chance for more widespread rain and storms. The concern for flooding will be increasing to close out the week given the heavy rain potential with this system and a pretty saturated ground from recent rains over the past few weeks.

The front will slowly work through the commonwealth heading into the weekend so it should be a bit unsettled on Saturday. You may have to adjust any outdoor weekend plans as we are looking at some decent coverage with showers and storms over the area. Once again the concern for some flooding will be on the table given the heavy rain potential so that’s something to keep in mind. Afternoon highs will be tempered a bit with most locations topping out into the low to mid-80s given the clouds and showers around. The front should finally work to the south of the commonwealth by Sunday with lessening rain chances and some drier air trying to work in from the north. We may actually see a few totally rain free days based on the latest data into early next week with afternoon highs climbing back into the upper 80s.