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After a rainy Friday, much needed sunshine returns for the weekend and into next week. Yesterday’s rain measurement of 0.30 inches brings our 2020 total so far to a whopping 24.38 inches. Our normal amount of rainfall from January 1 to May 9 is 17.19 inches. This means that we are 6.59 inches of rain above normal! While we are above normal in rainfall, these below normal temperatures keep their grip on Kentucky.
Sunny and Chilly
After a round of rain yesterday, and record-tying low temperatures this morning, beautiful sunshine and calm conditions make their return to WABBLES. As of 6:40 AM, our low temperature is 34ºF, which ties with our record set in 1960. A large high pressure has set up over the Mississippi and Ohio River Valley, which is influencing today’s weather forecast.
With this strong high pressure center overhead, we can expect to see picture-perfect sunny skies. However, it will still be a bit chilly today. Our forecast high is only expected to get to about 58ºF, so well below normal. The image below shows what normal temperatures are for the nation.
Our normal high temperature for mid May is 76º, so we are 15-20 degrees below normal! Remember at the start of October last year when we had record breaking heat? We were begging for cooler temperatures then. Now that we have cooler temperatures, we wish it was much warmer!
Partly cloudy skies are possible tonight, but it should be another chilly night. Our low temperature, which occurs early in the morning, should be around 37ºF. We may even see another round of patchy frost, so I’d keep the plants inside/covered until these below normal temperatures loosen their grip on Kentucky.
Gusty Conditions for Sunday
Our high pressure system will quickly move to the east of our area by tomorrow. A low pressure system will move over the Great Lakes region. The combination of the high pressure off to the east and the low pressure to our north will make our winds come from the south-southwest for Sunday.
The low level jet, or wind stream at 5000 feet, will help make winds on the surface much stronger. Expect winds of 10-15 mph, with gust of 20 mph possible.
Model guidance continues to struggle with this low pressure system. Some models think we should see some brief, light showers from the cold front, while others keep the rain well to our north. Confidence remains low for Sunday’s rain forecast.
We should have mostly sunny skies for the morning, but could see some more clouds for the afternoon hours. With the southwest winds, our temperatures will be a bit warmer than Friday and even today. Sunday’s forecast high temperature is 66ºF, which is still much below normal.
Clouds Increase Late on Monday
Another high pressure approaches our area on Monday. This will help turn winds to be out of the northwest. We should see mostly sunny skies for the first half of Monday, but clouds will increase by the late afternoon/evening hours. By the overnight hours, our sky cover should be mostly cloudy.
Monday will be another chilly day, and we should expect our high temperature to only reach 60ºF. Luckily, thanks to the high pressure, our winds should be rather calm as well.
By the nighttime hours, clouds will overtake our sky. Our low temperature should be around 40, but there is an end to the cool temperatures in sight. Our high temperatures should finally become normal by Wednesday or Thursday as they should be in the upper 70s and lower 80s by late next week.
That wraps up today’s forecast. Hope you have a great Saturday! Make sure to look for the Afternoon Weather Story on Twitter, only at @wxornotBG.