We’ve enjoyed a nice stretch of weather so far this week across Central and Eastern Kentucky and that continued Wednesday with more sunshine and quiet weather across the area. With a breezy southwest wind gusting over 30 miles per hour at times combined with the mid-June sun, temperatures ju mped back into the mid to upper 80s for afternoon highs with a return of some humidity as well. An unusually strong area of low pressure for this time of the year off to our northwest set the stage for a widespread severe weather event across parts of Illinois and Indiana and this system will bring some active weather to the commonwealth heading into the late week. A line of strong thunderstorms is expected to drop to the southeast during the early hours of Thursday but weaken a bit given the loss of the daytime heating so this may work to our advantage as far as keeping the severe threat down slightly. However there will still be the potential of the line holding its strength toward the I-64 corridor towards daybreak Thursday so the Storm Prediction Center has areas from just northwest of Lexington now in a Level 3 severe risk (out of 5) with Lexington metro in a Level 2 and areas farther south in a Level 1 risk. Damaging winds will be the primary threat, although a low end chance of a spin-up tornado cannot be ruled out and you’ll want to have a way to get warnings during the early hours of Thursday especially for areas Lexington and points to the north. There is also a Flood Watch out along and north of I-64 until 9am Eastern Thursday due to the heavy rain potential. The cold front should slowly drop toward the Ohio River as the day wears on Thursday and with a warm and humid air-mass in place, additional rounds of showers and thunderstorms will be possible through the day. The strong storm threat will still be on the table with much of Southern and Eastern Kentucky under a Level 2 severe risk (out of 5) with damaging winds continuing to be the main concern. The other issue may be some heavy rainfall given the slow movement of the storms and the tropical moisture in place over the area. This could create a few flooding issues in spots, but the heavy rain down south would be welcome given the on-going drought across the southern half of the commonwealth. Afternoon highs will still be in the low to mid-80s despite the clouds and rain around. The front will eventually push south of Kentucky for the Juneteenth holiday on Friday so better weather is expected to end the week. Other than a leftover shower during the early morning hours, drier air will be working into the region so look for sunshine to return along with afternoon highs into the low-80s. Heading into the final day of spring on Saturday high pressure will be in control so the timing looks great for any outdoor activities to begin the weekend. You’ll definitely want to have the sunscreen along with plenty of sun on tap and pleasantly warm temperatures with highs remaining in the low-80s. Heading into Father’s Day and the official start of summer (as the Summer Solstice occurs at 4:24 am Eastern Sunday morning) another wave of energy will drop into the Ohio Valley so our scattered shower and thunderstorm chances will be on the increase once again. While the day may start out mainly dry, the rain chances will ramp up as the day wears on, so you’ll need to keep that in mind for any outdoor activities you may have on the calendar as we celebrate all the dads out there. Look for more showers and storms early next week before we get a chance to dry out for a few days heading towards Tuesday and Wednesday as temperatures stay warm but a little below average for the second half of June. ABC 36 Storm Team 3 Day Forecast Wednesday night: Windy and warm, storms mainly late. Lows in the low-70s. Wind: SW 15-20 mph with gusts around 35 mph. Thursday: Occasional showers and storms, especially south. Highs in the low-80s. Wind: SW 10-20 mph. Thursday night: Showers Ending then partly cloudy. Lows in the low-60s. Wind: NW 5-10 mph. Categories: Featured, Local Weather Headlines, Storm Team Weather Blog, Weather, Weather Forecast Tags: breezy southwest winds, Chief Meteorologist TG Shuck, Father’s Day weekend, heavy rain possible, humidity returns, June 2026, Kentucky weather, Level 1 Severe Risk, Level 2 Severe Risk, Lexington, scattered showers and storms, unsettled weather pattern, Warm Temperatures, weather forecast, Weather Video ...read more read less