It's been quite a week of heat across Central and Eastern Kentucky with daily highs in the 90s, and we could be set up for our hottest day of 2026 on Thursday. With afternoon highs expected to reach the upper 90s here in the Bluegrass westward, we could best our highest temperature of the year of 96° we saw back on July 3rd, so it will be another blazing hot early September day. With a bit of humidity in the mix, heat indices will top out between 100° and 105° during the hottest part of the day. A Heat Advisory is out for the entire viewing area until 8pm Friday evening so make sure and hydrate and avoid being outdoors as much as possible.
The big heat will hang around another day to close out the week on Friday with mid-90s expected for afternoon highs and heat index values creeping over 100° yet again as humidity levels remain elevated. The boundary that's been stalled out well to our north will begin to drop southward as the ridge of heat weakens somewhat so look for a few scattered storms to develop during the afternoon heat.
Rolling into the holiday weekend, the frontal boundary to our northeast will slide in as a trough digs through the Northeast. This will help to drop out temperatures a few degrees into the upper 80s to around 90° for afternoon highs but it's still going to be a bit uncomfortable as humidity level stay up and keep things muggy. There will be a better chance for scattered storms given that our area will be in a more favorable spot with areas of thunderstorms developing to our north and northwest and dropping into the Bluegrass. This could have an impact on any outdoor weekend plans for the holiday weekend, including Kentucky's home opener at Kroger Field at 1pm on Saturday. Just plan for a very warm and muggy day along with the potential of storms and possible delays due to lightning if the storm materialize.
The rest of the holiday weekend will feature more of the same with a few storms but a break from the heat as highs reach the mid to upper 80s into Labor Day. It shouldn't be a total wash-out with the rain chances so keep that in mind. Another round of heat may build back in toward the middle part of next week as the 90s return. Have a great Thursday and stay cool!
