Hot and humid Wednesday ahead of a pattern change
Afternoon highs will climb into the low-to-mid 90s on Wednesday
LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) – The peak of our current heat stretch arrives today as temperatures surge well into the mid-90s across central and eastern Kentucky. With dew points hanging in the low to mid 70s, it won’t take much for heat index values to exceed 105° this afternoon, particularly in more urbanized areas and corn-laden farmland where evapotranspiration adds to the steam. This is one of the hottest days of this stretch, and while only isolated showers or storms may develop later today, the real focus shifts to Thursday’s cold front, which brings with it rain chances and a noticeable drop in humidity and temperatures heading into the weekend.
The pop-up storm risk today remains low, but as moisture deepens ahead of the approaching front, scattered storms are expected to develop on Thursday. These could bring locally heavy rainfall, some gusty winds, and frequent lightning, particularly in the afternoon and evening hours. While the overall severe threat is low, localized downpours could be intense in a few spots.
By Friday and into the weekend, a refreshing airmass will filter in behind the front. Afternoon highs by Saturday may struggle to reach the low 80s, and morning lows could dip into the 50s in some of our cooler eastern valleys. A very different feel than what we’ve grown accustomed to over the past 7 to 10 days.
Looking Ahead: A Taste of Fall?
Get ready for a weekend that feels more like mid-September than late July. Behind Thursday’s cold front, high pressure builds in from the Midwest, bringing pleasant days, cooler nights, and low humidity. Some of our eastern valley locations could wake up to readings in the mid-to-upper 50s Saturday morning! Rain chances look slim through much of the weekend, though isolated showers may return by Sunday or Monday with increasing instability.
We’ll be monitoring the pattern closely as another warm-up appears likely early next week, but with seasonable July heat, not the oppressive humidity we’ve dealt with lately.
