The meteorological summer begins hot, big changes are ahead

HAZARD, Kentucky (WYMT) – Welcome to June! The sixth month of the year begins much like May ended: Hot.

Tonight and tonight

Another day, basically the same prediction. The biggest difference today will be a few more clouds and a touch cooler. Look for a mix of sun and clouds and perhaps an isolated chance of rain near the Kentucky-Virginia border. As expected, Tuesday afternoon we had a few pop-ups in this area. It’s worth mentioning but not really a prediction because 99% of the region won’t even see it. The highs will be a little cooler but still be in the mid to high 80s.

Clouds are gradually increasing tonight and the cold front is arriving late bringing with it some scattered chances of rain. The lows fall to around 70.

Extended prognosis

Thursday can be summed up in one word: stormy. Previous models attempted to show most of the rain that came through early. That is no longer the case. This system could torment us for most of the day and into the early evening hours before it starts to relax. The biggest change you’re likely to notice is the drop in temperature. We’ll go from the top 80’s on Wednesday to the top 70’s on Thursday. Humidity will also drop sharply once the front is over. Some of the storms could be stronger at times. We’re facing a serious threat in the low-end segment, but I don’t expect it to spread. Harmful wind and heavy rain are our main threats.

The chance of rain will decrease Thursday night and we should clean up by Friday morning. Lows fall in the mid 50’s.

The first day of the Poke Sallet Festival in Harlan isn’t looking great on Thursday, but Friday and Saturday are looking great. There will be sunshine on both days with highs only in the mid to high 70’s on Friday and low 80’s on Saturday. It will be a refreshing change from all the heat and humidity we’ve been dealing with over the past few days.

Summer fans, don’t worry. The heat begins to pick up again on Sunday and for most of next week with highs in the mid to high 80’s and muggy conditions are also making a return. We also return to our daily probability of afternoon pop-up storms in the heat of the day. Outside of this we see a mix of sun and clouds.

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