Dry and cool for the upcoming weekend
After some scattered rain Friday, it looks tranquil for the weekend before another storm system arrives early next week
Even though it wasn’t much, it was good to see a few scattered showers across Central and Eastern Kentucky on Friday as a cold front moved through the region. Rainfall totals were overall light with a few isolated locations picking up a brief heavy downpour but more than anything is was just good to have some moisture around given the on-going drought across the commonwealth in addition to the forest fire situation across southeastern Kentucky. In case you missed it, parts of Southern and Southeastern Kentucky are now officially in a “Severe Drought” so hopefully a more consistent and active weather pattern will kick in soon.
As the cold front moves eastward on Saturday, quiet weather will settle back into Kentucky with plenty of sunshine and seasonably cool air both Saturday and Sunday. Afternoon highs may struggle to get into the low 50s despite the sunshine before rebounding into the mid-50s as high pressure drifts overhead on Sunday. These readings are pretty close to average for this time of the year.
Our dry stretch won’t last long as a dynamic storm system makes a run into the Ohio Valley as we kick off Thanksgiving week. Our rain chances should ramp up getting into Monday afternoon and this will be a prelude of things to come for Tuesday as the area of low pressure spins right through the heart of the region.
Monday night and Tuesday look like our best window for some widespread rain and some of the data indicates we could see a decent soaking rain out of this system. Rainfall totals may top the 1″ mark in a few locations, which would be fantastic news given the rainfall deficit. However for those traveling early for the holiday during that time frame, expect some rainy weather and wet roadways here in the Ohio Valley.
While it still looks chilly heading into the main travel day Wednesday and into Thanksgiving, the model data is trending not quite as cold as it initially looked the last couple of days. The big trough ushering in the cold air may not dig as far south now due to another wave of low pressure developing to our southwest so this is something to watch. We should still have cooler highs into the mid-40s by Turkey Day!
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
FRIDAY NIGHT: Showers end then mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s and low 40s.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny and cool. Highs in the low-50s.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Clear skies and cold. Lows in the low-30s.
