Dry and pleasant weather on tap to close out the week

After a week’s worth of consistent showers and thunderstorms on a daily basis, which was much needed given the spring drought across the commonwealth, it was a quiet Thursday weather-wise across Central and Eastern Kentucky. With a mix of clouds and sunshine afternoon highs made a run back into the low to even mid-80s down south but more importantly a northeast breeze pushed drier and less humid air into the area so it felt a little more comfortable to be out and about compared to the overly muggy conditions we had seen much of the week.

Friday looks like a winner as high pressure settles in nicely across the Ohio Valley. With more sunshine expected and a pleasant east wind drawing more dry air into the commonwealth, it should be a really nice way to close out the week in most locations. The east breeze may hold temperatures back a few degrees but it will still be very comfortable with afternoon highs into the upper 70s and lower humidity levels.

The latest Drought Monitor was issued Thursday morning and while the improvement wasn’t as significant as we’d hoped given all the rain, things are definitely better. Much of Northern Kentucky is now drought-free thanks to the heaviest rain falling there and the “extreme drought” conditions (which is a level 4 out of 5) dropped from 41% of the state in than range last week all the way down to 6% this week so we are making some headway slowly.

Heading into the final weekend of May we should be in good shape in most locations for any outdoor activities you may have on the calendar. The only bump in the road could be across far Southern Kentucky where the combination of some upper level energy and a return flow of moisture may be enough to squeeze out a shower or two both Saturday and Sunday for those areas along the Kentucky/Tennessee border. The rest of Central and Eastern Kentucky should be in good shape both days with partly to mostly sunny skies and afternoon highs in the mid-70s Saturday followed by a slight bump into the upper 70s to finish out the month of May on Sunday.

Another area of high pressure will build into the Great Lakes and the Ohio Valley as we kick off June early next week so more tranquil weather is on tap for the commonwealth. Under mostly sunny skies and with a northeast to east wind bringing slightly “cooler” air in from Canada. Temperatures should be a few degrees below average for this time of the year but it should feel great outside with the lower humidity levels. Afternoon highs should hang in the mid to upper 70s range each day through the mid-week with an extended stretch of dry weather expected. We may see a few showers back in the picture by late next week but at this point it looks to stay dry for the first week of the new month.