Hot again Tuesday ahead of storm chances

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – Happy Tuesday! One final day of the high heat and humidity before relief is on the way after storms roll through. A Heat Advisory is out for central Kentucky due to the heat index climbing near 105 during the afternoon hours. We average 1-2 heat advisories per year locally, so this shows the significance of this heat.

A Heat Advisory is in effect for central Kentucky through 9 PM Tuesday.

Before the intense heat moves in, there will be the chance of a few showers and mostly cloudy skies as a cluster of storms to our northwest pushes through the area. This won’t amount to much of any, but it will briefly pause our temperature climb. That’s until the sunshine returns, that is when the temperatures will spike into the mid-90s.

A Flood Watch is in effect through Wednesday for Franklin, Harrison, and Scott counties.

Isolated rain and storm chances will be possible over the northern half of the area during the mid-to-late afternoon. Most of the ABC 36 viewing area has a Level 1 Severe Risk due to isolated damaging wind gusts. There is also a Flood Watch in effect for Franklin, Harrison, and Scott counties until Wednesday due to the threat of heavy rain. The afternoon round shouldn’t cause too much of a flooding concern. There will likely be another round of rain and storms that gets going during the evening hours and will last into the overnight. The heaviest of the rain will be along and north of I-64. The rain totals will likely be lower the further south you go from I-64, so some areas that need the rain in south-central Kentucky, may not receive much.

There is a Level 1 Severe Risk for most of the ABC 36 viewing area through tonight.

Off and on scattered showers and thunderstorms will continue into Wednesday. These storms will have less organization, but still could produce locally heavy rainfall at times. This is all out ahead of the cold front that will usher in some seasonably cooler air later this week. This front passes Wednesday night into Thursday. This will drop the rain chances into southern Kentucky, while the Lexington area will be drying out on Thursday.

Below average temperatures are likely late this week.

Afternoon highs on Thursday will likely struggle to reach the low 80s for most areas. Rain chances should be limited to southern Kentucky, but an isolated shower or two can’t be ruled out. Overnight lows Thursday night into Friday morning will be falling into the low 60s for most areas. This gives us a comfortable start to what will be a great mid-July day on Friday. Afternoon highs will struggle to reach the mid-80s under partly cloudy skies.

Rain and storm chances will return for the weekend, particularly over southern Kentucky. Temperatures will also return near average as well.

Stay with the ABC 36 Storm Team for more updates. 

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
TUESDAY: Partly cloudy, hot and humid with late day storms. Highs in the mid-90s.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Rain and storms, muggy. Lows in the low 70s.
WEDNESDAY: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-80s.