After a comfortable start to the week, Central and Eastern Kentucky are bracing for the return of storms and heavy rain on Wednesday night into Thursday. An area of high pressure is shifting eastward, leading to a southerly flow that will bring warmer temperatures and increasing moisture into the region.

Wednesday’s Forecast

Wednesday will feature a noticeable increase in temperatures and humidity levels as a powerful storm system begins organizing across the Great Lakes. Most of the daylight hours on Wednesday are expected to remain dry with a mix of sunshine and clouds. Strong southerly winds will help temperatures surge into the upper 80s while dew points climb into the upper 60s and lower 70s, making it feel much more summer-like.

A line of showers and thunderstorms is expected to develop west of Kentucky on Wednesday evening before pushing eastward overnight into Thursday morning. The primary concerns with this system will be damaging wind gusts, torrential rainfall, frequent lightning, and localized flooding. While the tornado threat appears lower across much of Central Kentucky, it cannot be completely ruled out given the strong wind fields associated with this system.

Impact on the Community

Many locations could receive between 1 and 2 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts possible where thunderstorms repeatedly move over the same areas. The rainfall will be beneficial for drought-stricken areas of southern Kentucky, but it could also lead to localized flash flooding concerns if heavier rainfall rates develop.

The good news is that the unsettled weather should gradually move out by Friday, with a return of drier air and building high pressure bringing improving conditions heading into Father’s Day weekend.

Original reporting: WTVQ (Lexington) — read the source article.