Damp weather to kick off March but more mild air isn’t far off

It was a pleasant finish overall to the month of February across Central and Eastern Kentucky with plenty of sunshine and temperatures a bit below average for “Leap Day”. Despite all the sunshine around, a light north wind and a very chilly start only allowed afternoon highs to recover into the low to mid-40s for highs, which is roughly 5 to 10 degrees below the curve depending on location. Speaking of the cold morning, temperatures dropped all the way into the upper teens and low 20s to begin the day with plenty of frosty conditions around the area.

As we flip the calendar to March on Friday you’ll need the rain gear as a southern stream system throws some moisture northward into Central and Eastern Kentucky. Expect generally light rain in most locations and we should be dealing with any thunderstorms. While temperatures may be close to freezing at daybreak, the bulk of the moisture shouldn’t arrive until later in the morning so we aren’t overly concerned about an initial wintry mix. With the clouds and rain around, afternoon highs will be held in check a bit with most spots topping out in the mid to upper 40s. Rainfall totals should range from a quarter to a half inch before the showers taper off late Friday night.

It now appears that some stubborn cloudiness should linger into Saturday which will slow our moderation in temperatures but we are still looking at a pretty good weekend for the first one in March, especially as we close it out on Sunday. With the clouds in place I think upper 50s will do it for afternoon highs Saturday but those temperatures are still a few degrees above average for early March. The real warm-up kicks in Sunday and beyond as a southwest flow kicks in nicely allowing more spring-like air to return. Afternoon highs should surge into the low 70s so it will be a good day to get out an enjoy the weather.

A slow moving frontal boundary will approach from the west into early next week but it appears the bulk of the moisture won’t arrive until Tuesday and Wednesday. While a few isolated showers and a rumble of thunder can’t be ruled out on Monday our best chances for rain/storms will be toward the mid-week as the front noses in. Temperatures still look great on Monday with highs in the low to mid-70s before more widespread wet weather arrives knocking our temperatures back a few degrees into the 60s.

ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST
THURSDAY NIGHT: Clouds increase, still cold. Lows in the low-30s.
FRIDAY: Cloudy with scattered rain. Highs in the mid to upper-40s.
FRIDAY NIGHT: Lingering showers, steady temperatures. Lows in the mid-40s.