Warm temps continue Thursday as storm chances increase

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Happy Thursday! We are tracking very warm temperatures in the forecast for your Thursday. Afternoon highs will be pushing the mid-to-upper 70s.

There is a chance the northern half of the region could experience a round of afternoon showers and thunderstorms. This entirely dependent on how far south a line of storms will extend out of southern Indiana and Ohio. If this line of storms stays to the north, this will keep most of the region dry during the daytime hours. The bulk of the rain and storms will move in overnight into early Friday.

There is Level 1 Severe Risk in place for central and northern Kentucky, with damaging wind gusts and large hail as the two primary threats. IF we see the afternoon and early evening storms, then there is a low-end risk of some rotation within the storms. Again, there is uncertainty surrounding the afternoon threat of storms.

The heaviest rain on Friday will be during the morning hours. Rain chances will drop into the afternoon hours on Friday, becoming more isolated-to-scattered. Temperatures take a hit as well, we will struggle to reach the mid-60s. As a cold front passes Friday afternoon and evening, temperatures will drop into the 30s Saturday morning.

The weekend is trending drier, especially on Saturday. Saturday will likely be a nice day, with skies clearing by the afternoon. After the chilly start to the day, afternoon highs will rebound into the upper 50s and low 60s. Your St. Patrick’s Day is trending drier as well! There will be some added cloud cover and temperatures will be cooler (into the 50s), but at least rain chances will be lower.

A secondary front passes late Sunday into Monday. This drops temperatures into the low 40s Monday afternoon. This is a big temperature drop from this week. There is a low chance we could even see some flakes flying Monday into Tuesday. This shot of cold is short lived. Temperatures by Wednesday should rebound closer to average.

Stay with the ABC 36 Storm Team for more updates.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
THURSDAY: Partly cloudy skies and warm temperatures. Chance of afternoon showers and storms. Highs in the mid-to-upper 70s.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Line of showers and storms. Lows in the upper 50s and low 60s.
FRIDAY: Showers and a few storms likely early, becoming more isolated later in the day. Highs in the low-to-mid 60s.