Storm chances slowly return as mid July heat sticks around

With high pressure in control over the Ohio Valley the dry and tranquil weather pattern remained in place for the mid-week across Central and Eastern Kentucky. With plenty of sunshine around, temperatures climbed a few degrees with most locations landing into the low-90s for afternoon highs. Fortunately humidity levels were still manageable but it still felt pretty toasty during the peak heating of the afternoon and we are looking at more of the same into the late week.

Our typical mid July pattern will stay put heading into Thursday with another hot and more humid day on tap for the commonwealth. Afternoon highs will again make a run at the 90 degree mark and with some extra humidity added in, the “feel-like” temperatures  could be either side of the century mark during the hottest part of the day so definitely take the proper precautions if you have to be outside for any length of time. With the returning moisture and the upper level ridge breaking down, a few pop-up storms could fire as the day heats up but overall most spots should remain rain-free.

A mid-level wave looks to drop through the Ohio Valley on Friday, increasing our chances for scattered showers and thunderstorms to end the week. While the activity doesn’t appear to be widespread, the overall coverage should be a bit more and any storms that develop have the potential of dropping some locally heavy downpours given the amount of moisture around. Away from the storms, look for partly sunny skies with the warmth and humidity rolling along as afternoon highs back off a few degrees into the upper 80s thanks to some clouds and the storms around. Saturday should feature a repeat performance with more storms on occasion so you’ll need to monitor the weather for any outdoor plans you have on the calendar heading into the weekend.

We should see some improvement for the second half of the weekend as the mid-level wave exits the area into Sunday. This should reduce our shower and storm chances to be more isolated in nature so overall it should be a better day for outdoor activities around the region, despite a weak front sitting just off to our north. It will stay on the warm and humid side with afternoon highs into the upper 80s, which is right on par for this time of the year. We should see more of the same early next week before a secondary cold front arrives on Tuesday, ushering in some drier and slightly “cooler” air by the middle of next week with highs dropping back into the low 80s with more comfortable humidity levels.