It definitely felt like mid-October in central and eastern Kentucky Tuesday with breezy and cool conditions again. An upper level system dropping through the Ohio Valley kept the clouds close and even helped bring a few scattered showers along with a few thunderclaps. Add to that brisk northwest winds of 10 to 15 miles per hour and temperatures barely reached the mid-50s for afternoon highs, more than 15 degrees below average for this time of year. In fact, a few spots dropped back into the upper 40s as the air the showers moved through cooled. Some of the heavy showers included “graupel,” a form of soft hail caused by super-cooled water droplets that typically occur during cool-season events.

As the upper level system moves quickly eastward, the night sky will clear and winds will lighten enough for frost to develop across the area through Wednesday morning. A Frost Advisory is out for all of Central and Eastern Kentucky, with morning lows expected to drop into the mid-30s. With the growing season quickly coming to an end, you’ll want to cover the plants you want to keep for a little longer or bring them indoors if possible.

High pressure will build from the west, ushering in a return of sunshine on Wednesday, but with the overall cool air mass in place, afternoon highs shouldn’t recover until the low 60s, so we’ll remain below average for next month . few days.

Our best chance of widespread frost hitting the entire region should be Thursday morning as high pressure is literally right above our heads. This will create optimal conditions with radiative cooling (clear skies and light winds) so that early morning low temperatures will drop below 30 degrees, with some of the outlying areas falling below freezing. The high pressure area will drift eastward late in the week and more sunshine is expected. With a bit of a return flow underway, temperatures will start to recover nicely Thursday and Friday, with afternoon highs dropping back into the 60s.

The coming weekend looks perfect for this time of year as the calm weather pattern remains in place. Expect more sunshine in the area, with afternoon highs returning to the low 70s. This should be ideal for any outdoor activities and with all the fall festivals in Central and Eastern Kentucky in full swing, make some plans and enjoy the pleasant weather as it continues well into the week.

ABC 36 HOURS FORECAST
TUESDAY NIGHT: Clear skies and cold, frost expected. Lows in the low 30s.
WEDNESDAY: Lots of sun, still fresh. Highlights mid-1950s.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Clear and ice cold again. Lows in the low 30s