Milder air returns as we head into the late week

Afternoon highs should roll back into 70s across the board

1 hour ago

T.G. Shuck,

After another chilly start with temperatures around the freezing mark early Wednesday morning, we saw a milder day across Central and Eastern Kentucky as temperatures recovered quickly. Even with some filtered sunshine as high clouds drifted through, winds slowly started to shift toward the southeast which helped push mild air back into the region as high pressure moved off to our east. Afternoon highs jumped into the upper 60s to around 70 degrees, a far cry from the cooler mid-50s of Tuesday so it felt much more comfortable to be outside. This upward trend in temperatures should continue heading into the late week.

Thursday looks to be a delightful early April day across the area with more sunshine and mild temperatures. A frontal boundary off to our northwest will help winds kick in from the south nicely, bringing more mild air into the commonwealth. Add in plenty of sunshine and we should have a recipe for a fantastic spring afternoon with temperatures climbing into the mid-70s. You’ll definitely want to get outside as much as possible and enjoy the pleasant conditions.

The frontal system to our northwest will slowly drift to the south as we close out the week but it won’t have a lot of moisture to work with as it moves into the area. This should keep things mainly dry here in Central and Eastern Kentucky on Friday under mostly sunny skies, although a few isolated showers may develop just to our west. Afternoon highs should continue to remain pleasant with mid-70s in most spots, which is roughly 10 degrees above average for this time of the year. The weakening frontal system will set up right overhead into Saturday so we could see an isolated shower or two with the front around but overall we shouldn’t have any major impacts on outdoor plans. Look for a mix of clouds and sunshine with temperatures hovering into the low to mid-70s for afternoon highs.

As high pressure strengthens along the east coast and the front washes out we’ll see another sneak preview of the summer season to close out the weekend and head into early next week. With a strong southwest flow and winds picking up, warmer air will push back into Central and Eastern Kentucky so Sunday should be a really nice day with sunshine and afternoon highs back into the low 80s! Definitely make some outdoor plans and enjoy the warm weather. Several waves of energy will be riding along a slow moving cold front across the Central Plains and the Missouri River Valley into early next week as the southwest wind pushes a bit of moisture back into our area. This will bring back low end shower and storm chances on Monday and Tuesday as afternoon highs hover right around the 80 degree mark. The main cold front should get close enough to up the rain/storm chances a bit toward the middle part of next week so we’ll keep an eye on that.