Stormy and muggy weather sticks around to kick off August
The unsettled pattern with multiple rounds of heavy rain producing thunderstorms will continue into the late week
The stormy weather pattern we’ve dealt with the last several days has a firm grip on the Ohio Valley and the final day of July was no exception. With plenty of warm, moist air available and clusters of thunderstorms developing to our northwest and riding the upper level flow to the southeast, it was another unsettled day of weather on Wednesday. Stubborn debris clouds from early morning storms had a huge impact on afternoon highs with much of Central and Eastern Kentucky struggling to get into the upper 70s and low 80s as additional strong storms moved in mid to late afternoon. The chances for strong storms will stay in place and a general rule of thumb the next few days will be that any storms that develop have the potential of producing torrential rain/flash flooding along with gusty to damaging winds.
This pattern is typical for late July and early August and can be challenging to the overall forecast each year around this time. First off much of the model data struggles from run to run in the exact timing and placement of these thunderstorm clusters/complexes so it really adds challenge to forecasting day to day. The other issue is that clouds can linger (similar to what we had on Wednesday) and this can really mess with forecast high temperatures. For now we are looking at more of the same for the first day of August with muggy conditions and a few scattered storms. Afternoon highs look to reach the low 90s but could be hotter or cooler depending on the amount of cloud cover. If we spike up into the mid-90s, the heat index values could top 100 degrees. The Storm Prediction Center has far Northern Kentucky in the Level 2 severe risk (out of 5) with the rest of the area in a Level 1, which has been a daily risk all this week so far.
Looking ahead to Friday and into the weekend, a slow moving frontal system will finally push eastward, knocking us out of the path of the upper level northwest flow and cutting off the “thunderstorm complex train” by the time we hit Saturday. We will have additional storm chances with heavy downpours and strong winds potentially during that window with afternoon highs in the low 90s Friday and the upper 80s on Saturday so the first half of the weekend you’ll still need the rain gear and outdoor plans may be impacted.
Drier air will filter in on Sunday and beyond so we are looking at a slight lowering of our humidity levels (per our “Muggy-cast) which should help the comfort factor a bit even though it will still be a touch humid. We aren’t looking at any big major drop in temperatures behind the front. In fact with more sunshine expected along with the dry conditions afternoon highs will slowly climb back into the low and mid-90s into the middle part of next week, which should be expected for the first full week of August.
ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Warm and muggy with scattered storms, heavy rain possible. Lows in the low-70s.
THURSDAY: Partly cloudy with more storms. Highs in the low-90s.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Warm and muggy, scattered storms continue. Lows in the mid-70s.
