One more day of summer-like air to begin the weekend

Cooler temperatures are back in the picture by Easter Sunday

1 hour ago

T.G. Shuck,

It was a damp start to Good Friday across Central Kentucky with a some persistent rain showers rolling through the Bluegrass thanks to a stalled out frontal boundary sitting just to our northwest. Much of Southern and Southeastern Kentucky enjoyed a dry morning and a quicker warm-up as a result of the lack of rain. Once the showers cleared the area by early afternoon, we saw another unseasonably warm day everywhere thanks to a mix of clouds and sunshine along with a breezy southwest wind, which has been a big key to the summer-like stretch of weather we’ve enjoyed much of this week. Afternoon highs climbed into the upper 70s and low-80s and we’ll get to enjoy one more day of warmth before some changes kick in.

A cold front will be working into the Ohio Valley from the west on Saturday with the chances of scattered showers and storms increasing as we get deeper in the day. The morning and at least part if not most of the afternoon should be mainly dry with one final day of unseasonably warm temperatures. Southwest winds at 15 to 20 miles per hour will push afternoon highs back around the 80 degree mark. This should work out well for any outdoor plans you have on the calendar for Saturday. By the late afternoon and evening hours, rain and storms should spread across the commonwealth from west to east with everyone seeing some activity at some point as this system works through. There is a low end chance that a few storms could produce some gusty to damaging winds along with hail so we do have a low end Level 1 severe weather risk from the Storm Prediction Center, although the more favorable area should be off to our north.

Rolling into Easter Sunday the frontal system should be off to our east, taking the rain showers with it so we should be mainly dry in most locations for sunrise services that morning, although it’s possible a few showers could linger in spots east of I-75 early. Drier air will be filtering in through the day so we’ll get back into some sunshine across the board by the afternoon hours. The big story will be cooler air returning to the commonwealth with high temperatures backing down into the mid to upper 50s. While this is just a little below average for early April, it will be quite the change from the summer warmth we’ve enjoyed the last several days. Overall it should be a pleasant Easter across the area. High pressure will build in from the west to kick off next week with more sunshine and afternoon highs back into the low-60s on Monday.

Our weather should remain pretty tranquil during the early and middle part of next week with the only change being a dry frontal boundary that will drop through the Ohio Valley late Monday. Other than a few scattered clouds and a shift in wind direction, you shouldn’t even notice it. However, it will bring a reinforcing shot of cooler air so afternoon highs will get knocked back into the low to mid-50s Tuesday despite a good bit of sunshine around. There will be some chilly mornings with lows in the 30s (and possibly some scattered frost potential) before temperatures really rebound nicely later next week as afternoon highs climb back above average into the low-70s! Happy Easter!