After a seasonably warm Monday in south western Kentucky, National Weather Service officials in Paducah believe Tuesday has a chance to be eccentric — before abnormally cool temperatures arrive for the Commonwealth.
Keith Cooley, senior forecaster, noted Monday morning that heat advisories are being upgraded to extreme heat warnings for all of Tuesday — as heat indices are expected to crest 115 degrees across most of the Quad State region.
Southern Illinois and southern Indiana, he added, are experiencing poor air quality and haze, due to the raging wildfires in the Canadian provinces, and it’s possible some smoke dips all the way to the Ohio River.
Just as Tuesday afternoon reaches its hottest temperatures, Cooley said a massive cold front will impact Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and pretty much all of Kentucky, putting several counties in Level 2 or Level 3 of 5 severe weather expectations.
Storms rolling through, he added, will have a “very low potential” for tornadoes, but a much higher chance for hail and flash flooding.
Wind could be a concern in the severe thunderstorms, he said, and saturated soils combined with 70-mile-an-hour gusts could bring some trees down around the region.
Hail also cannot be ruled out of the equation.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday will see temperatures in the low 80s during the day and the low 60s during the evenings and overnight hours.
One good thing about all the rain, Cooley said, is the U.S. Drought Monitor shifting from poor to favorable conditions over the last two weeks.
By Sunday and Monday, Cooley noted that heat index values will creep back up into triple digits again.
