Late August heat hangs tough into the mid and late week

It was another hot and humid Tuesday across Central and Eastern Kentucky with afternoon highs reaching the low 90s once again. These temperatures aren’t atypical for late August but with humidity levels still a bit on the high side, some locations especially west and south of Lexington saw heat index values above the 100 degree mark. One contributing factor was a boundary over the area which kept scattered clouds around and held temperatures in check. The humidity levels remained high (especially west and south) because for this late in August, our vegetation is pretty green, so with some evaporation out of the soil and plants adding moisture to the air, the dew-points and humidity soaring in some spots adding to the discomfort for those outdoors during the hottest part of day. The picture below from Ambre Garrett illustrates how green everything still is.

The mid-week should be similar with more sunshine, a bit of humidity and afternoon highs hanging into the low 90s. Most locations should stay out of the Heat Advisory range as our “feel like” temperatures stay in the upper 90s to around 100 degrees. One factor that could come into play is a bit of elevated smoke and haze thanks to the recent northeast wind bringing those particles into the area. This could play a big part of “filtering” out the sunshine a bit and holding our temperatures down a bit into the low-90s.

As the weak boundary pulls out of the area and the heat dome over the region strengthens. afternoon highs are expected to surge into the mid and even upper 90s for Thursday and Friday. While humidity levels won’t be off the charts, it won’t take much to push our heat indices into the 100 to 105 degree range so you’ll want to use caution and minimize your time outdoor to end the week. There will be a cold front approaching from the north, so any thunderstorm development ahead of schedule could also have an impact on expected highs.

The first of two frontal boundaries will move through Friday night and into Saturday, bringing a few isolated storms and knocking about 8 to 10 degrees off of afternoon highs heading into the weekend. It will still be a hot Saturday with highs around 90 degrees, but the secondary front will usher in cooler and even drier air so temperatures and humidity levels will feel great to close out the weekend on Sunday. Check out how the “muggy meter” takes a dip at the end of the period.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
TUESDAY NIGHT: Fair skies, not as warm. Lows in the upper 60s.
WEDNESDAY: More sun and heat. Highs in the low-90s.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and quiet. Lows in the low-70s.