Quiet August weather pattern continues as temperatures slowly warm up

It’s been a spectacular early taste of the fall season the last few days here in Central and Eastern Kentucky and Thursday was no exception. Instead of feeling like late August, it has felt more like late September and early October especially during the early morning hours. Temperatures once again dipped into the upper 40s and low 50s to begin the day Thursday which was just a few degrees shy of record lows. With plenty of sunshine and a nice east wind, it was another post card day across the Bluegrass with afternoon highs recovering a few degrees into the upper 70s to around 80 degrees. Hopefully you’ve had a chance to enjoy the great weather but if not, you are still in luck for Friday and the weekend overall.

High pressure will continue to keep things dry and fairly comfortable for this time of the year as we close out the week on Friday. With more sunshine expected and a light southeast wind, temperatures should rebound into the low to mid-80s but the key will be the very dry air that will remain in place so humidity levels should stay low and muggy conditions won’t be a factor. This is a perfect scenario considering that Friday evening is the kickoff for the 2024 high school football season in Kentucky and it should be a perfect evening for it. Normally it is hot and muggy and/or there are storms to deal with but not this year so get out and support your local teams while enjoying a very pleasant evening.

Heading into the weekend, temperatures are expected to steadily but slowly climb back to around the 90 degree mark on Saturday with low 90s Sunday as the high pressure center continues to slide eastward. While it will be toasty for any outdoor activities but the saving grace is that humidity levels will still be fairly moderate so it’s not expected to be oppressive by any means. Even with that set up make sure to hydrate if you are outdoors for any length of time and doing strenuous activity especially given how comfortable it has been much of this weekend.

We shift back into a more typical late August pattern into next week with highs back into the low to mid-90s and the humidity levels on the rise as well. The model data has been bouncing around as far as a return of a few isolated storms and at this point it may be Tuesday night at the earliest before we see a few storms in the area. For now we are going to bump the isolated storm chances back a day so Wednesday and Thursday may feature a low end chance with highs still in the low-90s. The latest Drought Monitor out on Thursday shows much improved conditions thanks to the rainfall this past weekend with only Northeastern Kentucky dealing with a Moderate Drought. However we could easily fall back into some issues given this extended stretch of dry weather we’ve been enjoying so stay tuned.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
THURSDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, another pleasant night. Lows in the mid-50s.
FRIDAY: Lots of sunshine, a bit warmer. Highs in the low to mid-80s.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Fair skies and quiet. Lows in the low-60s.