Wet weather returns to the Bluegrass to finish out January

Our tranquil stretch of weather continued Wednesday across Central and Eastern Kentucky with more sunshine and pleasant conditions as high pressure held on for another day. A persistent southwest breeze during the overnight hours held temperatures in check so most locations were in the upper 30s to begin the day. Even with winds shifting around to the west, afternoon highs still managed to roll back into the mid-50s for much of the area, which has been rare at best this month. In fact Lexington topped 50 degrees for the first time all month on Tuesday, which was the latest we’ve seen temperatures above 50 in January since back in 1977!

The quiet weather pattern will come to an end on Thursday as a much advertised area of low pressure moves in from the southwest. We’ll start the day dry as high clouds build in from the west before our rain chances ramp up later in the day. Afternoon highs will remain mild into the low to mid-50s as winds shift back around to the south. With plenty of moisture streaming northward out of the Gulf we are set up for a good soaking rain across much of the area with some moderate to heavy downpours possible Thursday night and into Friday.

You’ll need the rain gear out the door on Friday as the showers are expected to continue as the wave of low pressure spins through the Ohio Valley. It will be a breezy end to January with winds gusting 30 to 35 miles per hour so the rain may be blown around a bit as a result. The activity should become a little more scattered through the afternoon hours and we may even see a few peeks of sunshine from time to time. Any sunshine will help increase wind gusts and we could potentially see a few rumbles of thunder mixed in with the gusty showers. It will feel almost spring-like with afternoon highs surging into the low 60s. Rainfall totals look pretty impressive with most locations seeing 1″-1.5″ of rain with a few localized areas even reaching the 2 inch mark.

We’ll begin to dry out as we welcome the month of February on Saturday as the wave of low pressure moves off to the east. A dry cold front will follow suit on Saturday doing nothing more than knocking temperatures back a few degrees into the upper 40s for afternoon highs. Expect a nice rebound on Groundhog Day with sunshine and afternoon highs surging into the upper 50s so it should be a very pleasant finish to the weekend. The unseasonably mild air will remain in place into early next week with a hint of a slight cooldown and the potential of another system impacting the region by the mid-week.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and colder. Lows in the upper 20s and low-30s.
THURSDAY: Clouds increase, rain late. Highs in the mid-50s.
THURSDAY NIGHT: Breezy with rain. Lows in the mid to upper-40s.