More rain and storms to close out the week

It was a much cooler Thursday across Central and Eastern Kentucky especially compared to the summer-like warmth we’ve enjoyed the last few days. With a frontal boundary to our south and some lingering moisture on the north side of it, much of the area saw damp and dreary conditions with low clouds and light showers through much of the day. The showers eventually tapered off through the day but a cool northeast wind coming around high pressure to the north combined with the rain held temperatures in check across the board. The Bluegrass region only saw afternoon highs in the upper 50s to around 60 degrees with a bit of a temperature boundary/gradient across the south where highs reached the low-70s.

Heading into Friday the boundary to our south will work back to the north as a warm front as an area of low pressure rides along it. This will bring additional moisture back into the region and increase our rain and storms chances to close out the week. There is the potential if the set-up is right for a few strong to severe storms to develop on the nose of the warm front and the Storm Prediction Center has our area in a Level 1 severe risk (out of 5) for Friday. Given the change in wind direction along the boundary, it can sometimes be a subtle set-up for an isolated tornado or two to spin up along with the damaging wind threat so that’s something to be aware of on Friday. Afternoon highs should be back into the low to mid-70s.

The unsettled weather pattern will continue into the upcoming Memorial Day weekend as the front stalls out across the central part of the Ohio Valley. With an upper level low sitting back across the Central Plains helping to feed moisture in from the south along with waves of energy sliding through the region, look for occasional rain and storms across the commonwealth. While the timing is less than ideal given all the outdoor plans over the holiday weekend, we desperately need the rain as much of Central and Eastern Kentucky now sits in a severe drought per latest Drought Monitor with a lot of Southern Kentucky in an extreme drought. Temperatures should still be warm despite the rain chances with upper 70s on Saturday and low-80s into Sunday.

Look for more of the same for Memorial Day on Monday as the overall set-up favors additional rounds of showers and storms across the state. Hopefully it won’t be a complete wash-out but you’ll definitely want to have the rain gear with you for any plans you may have on the holiday. Afternoon highs should continue to be right around average for the end of May with temperatures topping out into the upper 70s to around 80 degrees, depending on how the expected clouds and showers hold things in check. Pulling out the positive, much of the data is showing the majority of the area picking up several inches of rain over the next week, which should help knock down the drought a bit as we close out May.