Good Wednesday everyone. A cold front will bring some much needed heat relief to the commonwealth over the next few days as we wait on something with a little more staying power. That continues to show up in the not so distant future as the heat wave pattern we have been in this summer looks to break down.

The cold front moving in later this afternoon and evening will knock our temps down for the next few days. Showers and thunderstorms will be scattered about the region ahead of the front today and a few of these may be on the strong side. Follow the action here…









Temps today will generally run in the mid and upper 80s for those areas that get in on showers and storms. Some areas may spike toward the low 90s ahead of the boomers.

Thursday will feature temps in the mid and upper 80s for highs for many areas with a mix of sun and clouds. Our western counties and those counties along the Tennessee border should still be able to squeeze out a 90.

Humidity levels and temps increase from Friday into the coming weekend ahead of a cold front that arrives on the scene by Sunday. This will lead to scattered thunderstorms cranking back up.  The front that moves in for Sunday looks like the first real sign of a pattern change as another front may push in by early next week. These two together will kick the heat well to our west and you can see that very well on the European Model…



That’s a pattern that is very conducive for northwest to southeast moving clusters of thunderstorms and we will be watching to see how that plays out. It’s also a pattern that can bring a ton of rain from the midwest into the Ohio Valley. Exactly where this corridor sets up remains to be seen.

All of this likely boils down to a change in the overall pattern across North America. The super heat ridge that has taken up residence across the central and eastern half of the country is forecast to slowly shrink west and southwest. This allows the jet stream to take a dip across the eastern half of the country with a milder brand of air taking over.

The GFS Ensembles are certainly pointing in that direction…



I don’t know about you… but I will take that in a heartbeat!

Have a great Wednesday and take care.