Forecast Highlights:
1. Sunny and hot today and tomorrow. Clear tonight.
2. Models continue to depict a strengthening mid-level ridge Thursday night through Friday night over the mid-Atlantic coast extending westward into eastern Kentucky.
3. Still expecting the center of the remnants of Isaac to swing around Kentucky and move northeast.
4. Heaviest rains will fall along the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio
Hurricane Isaac has weakened slightly since making landfall and is now Tropical Storm Isaac once again. Maximum sustained winds are 70 mph. Life-threatening hazards from the storm surge and inland flooding are still occurring.
Maximum sustained winds of 70 mph
According to NBC, in Plaquemines Parish, the storm surge overtopped an 18-mile stretch of levee, sending up to 12 feet of water over the 8-foot-tall barrier. National Guardsmen and residents rescued dozens of people trapped in homes.
Water pours over a levee.
Skies are sunny in Bowling Green once again today. High pressure continues to suppress any cloud development at all. The high pressure center over Michigan is still giving us northeasterly winds. This high pressure is expected to shift to the mid-Atlantic Coast by Thursday, and it is also forecast to expand Thursday night into Friday into eastern Kentucky.
It is still August, however. Even with the northeasterly winds, we’ve warmed up to 92 this afternoon. Winds will shift from the northeast to the southeast on Thursday, and skies will remain sunny. Tonight will be another clear night, with a low of 66. Tomorrow will be hot, with a high of 95. Check out this map of wind streamlines… Hurricane Isaac is clearly visible over the Bayou.
The dewpoint is currently in the upper 50s, but we will see a return of moisture from the south by Thursday night as Isaac moves north through Louisiana. The dewpoint is forecast to reach 70 sometime Friday. There is a very slight chance for rain Thursday night. However, there is a good chance for rain Friday through Monday, until the remnants of Isaac finally move off to the east on Monday. Here is a map of expected QPF from HPC:
The heaviest rains are expected west and north of Bowling Green.