The unsettled weather pattern rolls on into the late week

We saw more of the same on Wednesday across Central and Eastern Kentucky, which was heavy rain producing thunderstorms during the early morning hours before we cleared things out a bit during the afternoon hours as the activity diminished. With a little more sunshine around, afternoon spiked into the mid to upper 80s and it felt hotter than that with the higher humidity levels.

Heading into the early hours of Thursday we should see the same routine of overnight rain and storms thanks to the low level jet stream increasing. This is an area of low level winds a few thousand feet above ground that is a great transporter of warm and moisture. It typically increases in speed during the night and helps fuel storm development, especially in this type of weather pattern. Given the recent heavy rain across the area, a Flood Watch remains out for Southern and Eastern Kentucky through Friday morning.

It looks like a brief break from the rain is on tap for Saturday as we head into the final weekend of July. A strong area of high pressure will drop into the Ohio Valley setting us up for a nice start to the weekend. Most spots should see plenty of sunshine, lower humidity levels and afternoon highs only reaching the upper 70s. The only exception may be along the Kentucky/Tennessee border which will be closer to the stalled out boundary so a few showers will be possible there.

Enjoy the quick break as the front works back to the north as a warm front on Sunday bringing a return of showers and storms to the area as we kick off August on Monday. There is some indication that we may shift back into a drier and warmer pattern heading into the middle of next week.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Rain and storms, some heavy rain possible. Lows in the low 70s.
THURSDAY: Scattered storms, warm and humid.  Highs in the mid-80s.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Warm with a few storms. Lows in the upper 60s and low 70s.