Improving weather for the second half of the holiday weekend

Mother Nature’s has provided her fair share of natural fireworks so far during this long 4th of July holiday weekend and Friday was no exception. With a cold front moving in from the west and plenty of available moisture in place, a large area of heavy rain and thunderstorms moved through Central and Eastern Kentucky through the morning and into the early afternoon hours. The strongest storms were across Southern and Eastern Kentucky where we saw severe severe thunderstorm warnings and a few reports of some tree and powerline damage. With all the clouds and storms around, afternoon highs were held in check but it was still another very humid day. Luckily that will change heading into Saturday.

As the front pushes eastward into early Saturday much drier and more importantly less humid air will filter in from the west/northwest. You should really feel the difference with a less “muggy” feel to the air on Saturday as dewpoints temperatures drop from the mid-70s that we’ve seen the last few days to the low to mid-60s which is much more manageable for early July. Expect plenty of sunshine and seasonably warm temperatures so it should be a fantastic beginning to the second half of the holiday weekend. If you’ve been holding out on outdoor plans because of the stormy weather the last few days, now is your choice to enjoy through the weekend.

High pressure will continue to dominate our weather on Sunday as temperatures climb back into the upper 80s to right around 90 degrees so it should feel about right to finish out the first weekend in July. As the high gives way to the east, the moisture and humidity will return to kick off next week as afternoon highs climb back into the low 90s Monday with a few isolated storms on the table.

A pretty typical summer pattern looks to set-up into the mid-part of next week with daily rain and storm chances and temperatures topping out in the mid to upper 80s. The big question is whether the tropical remnants from Beryl will get swept up in the upper level flow and pushed up into the Ohio Valley. At this point some of the data is indicating that so we could increase our overall rain chances later next week if that pans out. While we’ve had pockets of heavier rain lately, we are still abnormally dry here in the Bluegrass per latest drought monitor and cause use a little more steady, widespread rainfall.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
FRIDAY NIGHT: Clearing out, less humid. Lows in the mid-60s.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny and nice. Highs in the mid-80s.
SATURDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and pleasant. Lows in the low-60s.