A Wet Start to the Weekend

There’s not a whole lot of sunshine this morning. Lots of clouds were left behind by yesterday’s showers and storms, plus we have some already moving in from Tropical Depression Bill. All locations in south-central Kentucky are dry for now but it won’t be long before some showers and thundershowers arrive. We’re watching the track of Bill closely. Right now, it is centered over the Missouri Ozarks, and is remaining on track to glide up the Ohio River. As it comes into the picture, we will be impacted today by a few of its spiraling outer bands.

Like yesterday, a few of the storms may turn out to be strong. A severe storm or two cannot be ruled out either. The spinning nature of these storms around the center of low pressure may add a slight rotational component, but any hazards would primarily be some brief damaging winds and small hail. Because of the rain off and on through the day, as well as the cloud cover, we will finally stay out of the 90s for the first time in almost a week. Though it will still be humid, highs will be around 87°. Some locations may be cooler, but given the warm start this morning, this number seems reasonable. We will also have to watch for the possibility of heavy rain with these thunderstorms. There is no shortage of water for this system to work with.

Rainfall forecast through Saturday afternoon from NWS Louisville

Overnight, Bill will continue to close in on us, and we will find ourselves underneath cloudy skies with quite a bit of rain. The bulk of the precipitation looks to fall in the pre-dawn hours and into Saturday morning after sunrise. Right now, Flash Flood Watches are out for counties along and north of the Western Kentucky Parkway. The National Weather Service in Louisville has mentioned the possibility for this to be expanded south, or perhaps altered to a Flood Watch if heavy rain becomes prolonged enough. This will largely depend on who gets soaked this afternoon. A few models support the idea of 2″ of total precipitation here in Bowling Green. Saturday will be even cooler with a high of 84°, and it will be windy too. Breezes will be sustained at 10-20 mph with higher gusts.

Today: High of 87° with south winds at 5-15 mph. Humid with a 60% chance of showers and storms.
Tonight: Low near 72° with cloudy skies and a 70% chance of rain. South winds at 5-10 mph.
Saturday: An 80% chance of rain and storms, especially in the AM hours. Cloudy and gusty southwest winds at 10-20 mph. Rainfall over an inch possible.

Thanks for reading!
- Caleb Chevalier