Monthly Archives: July 2012

Good Tuesday to one and all. We are ending the month of July on a rather hot and humid note. That’s exactly what you expect during the Dog Days of Summer and it looks like more of the same for most of the week. The increase in heat and humidity will also bring some scattered showers and storms back to the bluegrass state.

Temps today will range from the high 80s to low 90s for most of central and eastern Kentucky as the west continues to bake. There is a weak front dropping in later today and this may spark a shower or thunderstorm. The NAM High Resolution continues to advertise a cluster of storms for some this evening…

Your regional radar will be able to verify any storm that goes up…

Temps for the middle and end of the week will generally run in the 90-95 degree range for many areas with 100 or better in the west.

A stronger cold front looks to arrive by the weekend and that’s when our shower and thunderstorm chances will really rise. The GFS…

A little shot of some cooler air may drop in for the early part of next week.

Have a great Tuesday and take care.

Good Monday everyone. I have to admit the weekend weather has me looking forward to the early part of fall that is just around the corner. I also have to remind myself that it’s still late July and the hot weather isn’t through with us just yet. That is certainly the case this week as hot temps return to the bluegrass state and the heat will bring along some storms.

Let’s get things started with what’s going on out there today. Temps will be heating up with readings into the upper 80s to around 90 for most of central and eastern Kentucky. The west will continue to run much hotter and that trend will be much more evident on Tuesday as readings there flirt with 100. The NAM shows the big difference from west to east…

Our temps across the entire state will depend on any shower or thunderstorm action that blows up. The High Resolution NAM is showing some action in the west again later today…

The model then tries to blow up a thunderstorm complex Tuesday evening…

This week doesn’t look as stormy as the past few weeks. The action looks a little more scattered as the heat and humidity takes a little more prominent role. The wet ground and green vegetation for much of central and eastern Kentucky will help keep those temps in check compared to the west.

That said… I could see Friday or Saturday becoming VERY hot for much of the state ahead of a strong cold front. That front arrives in town later this weekend and may have a heck of a clash of air masses with it. The European Model has an impressive cool shot behind it…

One thing I am noticing is that much cooler air is slowly beginning to work into Canada. That could have more of an impact on our weather as we head toward fall.

Have a great Monday and take care.

Good Sunday everyone and thanks for dropping by KWC. We are putting the wraps on a gorgeous weather weekend here in the bluegrass state. Near normal temps, sunshine and comfy humidity levels are combining to give us some of the good stuff. We needed this after the stormy weather of late, but it doesn’t look like the storms will be staying away for much longer.

The past three weeks of severe storms have been tough on a lot of folks.These boomers do have a good side and that comes in the amount of rain they have dropped across much of the state. The central and eastern parts of Kentucky have had the drought conditions basically wiped out. Take a look at how much above normal the July rains have been…

Many areas are running 4″-8″ ABOVE NORMAL for the month. I feel for our western Kentucky friends who are in dire need of soaking rains. Can we get them some this week? They have a shot at more thunderstorm clusters moving in. The new High Resolution NAM is trying to get some action in there later today…

I’m not sold on that, but it is worth watching.

The model then shows additional showers and storms blowing up farther eastward as we start out the new week…

More clusters of showers and storms will then be possible for the end of the week into the coming weekend. As always, we will need to keep an eye on the severe weather possibilities.

Have a great Sunday and take care.

Good Saturday everyone. Let me start out by thanking all the folks who sent me information and pics of the severe weather and storms of the past few days. The blog, twitter, email and Facebook were all busy with valuable info from all of you. It is greatly appreciated. That said… I need a break from the storms.

It looks like Mother Nature is going to give us all a nice little break out there this weekend as calm weather returns to the blue grass state. Let’s break it all down with the headlines…

- A mix of sun and clouds will be noted out there today as a much more comfortable brand of air moves in. Highs in the mid 80s for the eastern half of the state will be noted. The west? You know how it goes… temps will be several degrees warmer. Dang drought!

- Speaking of the drought… much of central and eastern Kentucky is now officially in pretty good shape. Lexington has now cracked the top ten list for wettest Julys on record. Yep… you head that correctly.

- Sunday will see temps back in the mid and upper 80s for areas not named western Ky.

- I can’t rule out a popcorn shower or thunderstorm at any point this weekend. I wouldn’t hold my breath on it, though.

- The pattern into next week will go right back into one that can produce rounds of showers and thunderstorms. Yippee.

- Temps next week will be much warmer as we ramp up the humidity levels… again. Double yippee.

That’s all I can give you guys for right now… your friendly weather-dude is a little on the tired side after the past few days. I will have a treat for you all over the next few weeks, so be sure and keep reading.

Have a great Saturday and an even better weekend. Take care.

Good evening. A new SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH is out until 3am for parts of eastern Kentucky. Here’s a look at the watch outline and the current warnings…

More updates as needed. Take care.

Good Friday afternoon everyone. The threat for severe weather is on the increase as we head into the evening hours. The atmosphere has recovered very well from the storms of last night and we are seeing new storms exploding just to our west and northwest. These will come riding into Kentucky later this evening and we already have a SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH until 11pm for the north.

Here’s a look at the watch outline and the latest warnings…

Regional Radar

I will have updates as needed on a number of outlets. Here on the blog, via twitter, my Chris Bailey WKYT Facebook page and on WKYT-TV.

Take care.

Good Friday everyone. We are coming off a Thursday and Thursday night that featured widespread showers and thunderstorms. These storms were as about as noisy as any storms you will ever find around here as the lightning was off the charts. The boomers brought much needed rains to many with some areas getting too much of a good thing. That prompted some flash flooding for a few spots.

The threat for showers and storms will continue today and I can’t rule out another round of strong or severe storms late this afternoon into the evening.

A cluster of showers and storms will be ongoing to start the day across the east and southeast. Heavy rains will be possible in many of these areas. Skies will clear out some across the central and west and this may allow the atmosphere to destabilize enough to produce another line of storms. That’s especially the case as there is a disturbance diving into the region from the northwest. This will be something to keep an eye on and that’s exactly what we will be doing.

Cooler and less humid air works in for the weekend as temps drop into the 80s for highs for many folks. I still can’t rule out a popcorn shower or storm at some point, but much of the area should be dry.

Guess what happens next week? Give yourself a ribbon if you said more storms. We are in a repeating pattern that should feature more rounds of storms moving in here from the northwest. That could lead to more severe weather.

Let’s get back to tracking the stuff out there today…

Watches

Possible Watches

I will have updates as needed. Enjoy your Friday and take care.

9pm Update

Good evening. I just realized I never posted the map for the SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH in eastern Kentucky. This goes until 2am. Here ya go…

Have a great rest of your evening and take care.

Good Thursday afternoon everyone. Our severe weather outbreak is just beginning to unfold across the Ohio Valley and this will ramp up into the evening hours. A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH has been issues until 10pm for much of the state. Additional watches will likely be issued for the rest of the state later today.

Here’s a look at the watch outline and the latest warnings…

Radar

Damaging winds of 60mph+ will be possible this evening into the overnight. I will have updates as needed and be sending out rapid fire updates via twitter.

Take care.

Good Thursday everyone. An outbreak of severe weather is likely today from Missouri to New England and this should include much of the bluegrass state. The ingredients are coming together for a possible damaging wind event across much of the outlined region.

Some thoughts:

- Heat and humidity will be common ahead of the storms. Temps will hit the low and mid 90s in the central and east and 100-105 in the west. The heat index will be much higher.

- A squall line of thunderstorms will develop to our northwest during the afternoon. This line will then settle into Kentucky during the afternoon and evening.

- The prime severe weather time appears to run from 3pm-11pm. That could change a bit depending on the speed of the front.

- Damaging winds of 60mph or greater will be the main severe threat.

- Additional storms may fire on Friday, but these don’t look to be as strong as what we deal with today.

Let’s get to tracking today’s action…

Watches

Possible Watches

I will have updates as needed and will send out warnings via twitter. Follow me: @kentuckyweather. Today is also a WKYT 27 First Alert Severe Weather Day. Our weather team will be updating the storm threat throughout the day on WKYT-TV and online.

Have a great Thursday and take care.

Good Wednesday everyone. The title of this post is straight to the point as the weather today will be very similar to what we’ve had the past few days. The heat and humidity will continue as we watch additional rounds of storms move across the state. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

The storms of today will be firing up along numerous outflow boundaries floating around the region. Any storm will have the potential to become strong or severe with high winds and hail. All of the storms will contain torrential rains and a ton of lightning. Temps outside of the storms will hit 90-95 across central and eastern Kentucky with 100 ish temps across the west. The high humidity will make it feel much hotter than that.

I am already looking ahead toward late Thursday into Friday for a possible widespread severe weather outbreak across the Ohio Valley. This will be along and ahead of a strong cold front working in from the north and northwest. Much cooler and drier air is working in behind the front and that will clash with the heat and humidity. This setup passes my “look test”.

Let’s get you all set to track whatever weather is out there today…

Watches

Possible Watches

Current Temperatures

Have a great Wednesday and take care.

Good Tuesday evening everyone. Strong and severe storms continue to work across parts of central and south central Kentucky. These boomers will continue to contain high winds and hail to go along with torrential rains and lightning. Because of this, the SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH has been extended until 11pm for parts of the state.

Here’s a look at the watch outline and the current warnings:

Regional Radar

Updates as needed. Take care.