LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Friday marks the final day of extreme heat for central Kentucky and southern Indiana.
Temperatures hit a record high of 102 degrees on Thursday; that's the hottest its been since July 8, 2012. Thankfully, humidity levels will be fairly low, so this dry heat won't feel too much worse than the actual temperature.
The Heat in Review
Friday's Forecast High: 99°.
Friday's record high temperature: 98° (1953).
Louisville tied a record high temperature on Tuesday. The high temperature was 99 degrees and this tied a previous record of that value back in 1948!
We did not quite get to the record high of 100 degrees on Wednesday. Instead we warmed to 99° for our high temperature on hump day.
On Thursday, Louisville clipped 102°. This was the hottest day the city received since Summer of 2012. The previous daily record high temperature was 99°.
How to protect yourself against heat
It is very important that all of us familiarize ourselves with the signs and symptoms of heat stroke and heat exhaustion.
If you feel nauseous, have the chills or have dizziness, please make sure you call 911 and seek medical attention. The week's heat and sun is nothing to mess around with.
Also, please make sure you wait and walk your pets either in the morning or the evening hours.
The heat of the day will make for concrete and asphalt to clock in between 120 to 150 degrees. This would be hurtful for your pets paws.
Rain Chances
We are also concerned about the lack of rainfall lately. Louisville has not picked up measurable rainfall in 14 days (0.20 inches on August 16th) and we do not expect to receive any rain until Friday and Saturday.
Note, that August will go down abnormally dry as we have struggled to top an inch of rain this month. August is currently ranked as the 13th driest August on record in Louisville.
A brief, stray storm may develop Friday mid-afternoon. Keep in mind, that this is a slim chance to end the week. The best chance for rainfall will arrive Saturday. Most of the showers and storms will be periodic and will move in from west to east through the day. Most of the storms that develop will be isolated and may provide brief heavy downpours to localized spots.
There is a very LOW risk for severe weather. Any storms that ignite will provide brief heavy pockets of rainfall and a isolated strong wind gust of two (40-50 mph).
Futurecast: Friday-Saturday
Worsening Drought
Luckily, more seasonable air will move in for the end of the weekend and through next week.
Let's hope that September brings a lot more rain because we are beginning to really see the drought monitor increase in coverage across central and northern Kentucky as well as far southern Indiana.
