Summer warmth in full force to begin May

With a weak frontal system slowly working through the Ohio Valley on Tuesday it was a little damp in spots for the final day of April. The bulk of the rain fell during the morning hours in Central Kentucky with a few scattered showers and isolated thunder in the eastern mountains through the afternoon. We saw some healthy rainfall totals across the board with most locations ranging from a half inch to well above 1″ especially across the southwestern part of the state. Drier air worked in later in the day so afternoon highs ranged from the mid-70s in the Bluegrass as some sunshine return to areas of the southeast staying in the 60s with the clouds and showers lingering.

Flipping the calendar to May on Wednesday should feel more like flipping the calendar to June as more summer-like air will return to the region. As high pressure builds to our east, a southwest wind combined with some sunshine should push our afternoon highs into the upper 70s and low 80s which is 8 to 10 degrees above average for the 1st day of the new month.

The unseasonably warm pattern will stay in place as we head into Thursday with more sunshine and highs surging all the way into the mid- and upper 80s so make sure and stay cool given that we haven’t seen this type of warmth since the fall! With the leftover boundary from a few dissipating storms to our west drifting eastward, some of the data is indicating a few isolated storms could fire in the afternoon warmth Thursday north of I-64. We’ll keep an eye on that but most locations will be dry and very warm.

As we close in on Oaks Day Friday the data is still lined up for the next storm system to roll into the Ohio Valley. This will means occasional rain and storms through the day so you’ll want to plan accordingly if you are headed to Churchill downs on Friday. Their could be a wet/muddy track for the fillies big race and with all the clouds and rain in the area temperatures will be mild but cooler as afternoon highs top out in the mid-70s.

We talked yesterday about the potential of a small/tight window of dry weather into Derby Day and much of the data is still supporting that. A few scattered showers will be possible but those look to remain into Eastern Kentucky with Louisville situated nicely in between the departing front to our east and another wave approaching from the west for Sunday. With post time for the 150th Kentucky Derby around 7pm hopefully we see a dry afternoon and early evening and conditions remain good. It does appear that temperatures may be a touch warmer now with less rain/clouds so afternoon highs should reach the upper 70s.

Looking down the road into next week our weather seems very “unsettled” as we see a series of systems working through which may keep a consistent, daily chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms possible all the way toward Mother’s Day weekend so stay tuned.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
TUESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and pleasantly cool. Lows in the low-50s.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny and warm. Highs in the upper-70s and low-80s.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear, a quiet night. Lows in the upper-50s.