WKU Meteorology

   On this astronomical occasion, it is good to talk about autumnal equinox here in Bowling Green. The autumnal equinox has already occurred in this city on Monday, September 23, 2019 at 2:50 am CDT when the daytime and night are almost equal. The astronomical explanation for this event is when the sun’s disk is perpendicular to the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal. After this moment, Astronomically, the autumn or fall begins in the Northern Hemisphere of the globe and the first day of this season starts. But in Southern Hemisphere is the beginning of Spring or sometime is known as the vernal. 

    Turing to the weather in Bowling Green, the temperature is about 84 °F and dew point is 72 °F. We could see today the high temp reach to 92 °F since it is sunny day with some high clouds.  A high pressure will move toward “Southeast” because a weak cold front will be pushed into Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes. Therefore, we will feel a worm temperature coming back because of breezy southerly wind that is between these two system.

The cold front during tonight will not move too much to eastward, thus a dry situation will be dominated the condition in Bowling Green but a south breeze will drop the low temperature in the 65 °F.  generally, it seems we will continue with dry condition and the driest September on record with less than quarter inch of precipitation.

Summary for next few days  

Well, the break from 90s and high humidity was nice while it lasted. With temps in the 80s (barely even making 80 today) and dew points in the 50s recently, we finally got the long awaited relief that many of us have been searching for. We even got another 0.07″ of rain this morning! The past few days were the closest thing we have seen to Fall weather yet; however, that will soon be gone as Friday rolls around.

With the light rain showers that rolled through this morning, we are now officially the 4th driest September on record with 0.21″ for the month. Even with those light showers this morning, we are still far in the deficit for this month. Therefore, there is still a burn ban in effect for nearly every one of the South Central Kentucky counties. That means individuals can’t burn trash, leaves, or have any sort of outdoor fire. And with the mid-90s making a return by the beginning of the work week, the burn ban will likely remain in place for the next couple weeks.

Tonight, temperatures have already dropped into the 60s and will continue dropping down to 58. Clear skies will make for quite a beautiful night after a wonderful sunset a few hours ago.

Tomorrow, we will be back into the low 90s with humidity returning.

The weekend will really start to heat up with morning lows near 70 each day and highs at 92 and 93 Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Monday will be very hot. A forecast temp of 94 will be just 1 degree off the record high for September 30th. Tuesday will be even hotter: if we hit the forecast high of 95, we will set a new record for the first day of October.

It’s safe to say that summer still has Bowling Green in it’s suffocating grip. Fortunately, as long as people just put up with this next week of extreme heat, things will start to calm down and move a little closer to the norm for this time of year. In the meantime, stay hydrated, get your final swims in, and be safe South Central Kentucky!

I went out this morning to a sound and a feeling that had been long lost: rain! Temperatures already started to feel much better yesterday after the cold front had made its way through the area. Dew points have dropped from the upper 60s and 70s down to the 50s. Right now we are sitting at 85° with a dew point of 53°.

There is another cold front getting ready to cross the area associated with a low pressure center and cyclogenesis in Canada.

There are some showers and storms at the bottom tip of the front that will make their way into the area later this evening.

Rain chances will continue through tomorrow before clearing out for Friday. With the rain and the second cold front coming through temperatures will remain around 85 today but will drop to around 82 tomorrow. After the rain clears up temperatures will go back up to around 90° for Friday.

• SUMMARY:
  • Wednesday:
    • High: 85
    • Low: 55
    • Rain chances will increase later into the night.
  • Thursday:
    • High:82
    • Low: 53
    • Make sure to keep your umbrella available!
  • Friday:
    • High: 90
    • Low: 69

Have a safe, great weekend!

Fall is officially here, and it brought a cold front and some cooler temperatures with it. After spending most of last week in the 90s, the high-pressure system that has been keeping temperatures hot has finally broken down. After last week today’s high of 85°F felt pretty nice and tonight will be even better as we kick of fall with a crisp night as the temperature drops to 55°F under clear skies.

Tuesday will be sunny and slightly cooler with a high of 80°F. Clouds will begin moving into the area Tuesday night as the temperature drops back down to the mid-50s.

It is a good day because we would see a chance of sprinkles during day time and the high temperature will be near to 89 °F. I currently hear the wind moving the tree`s branches with speed about 9 to 13 mph. Scatter cirrus clouds are dominated at this time which mean we could say it is sunny and it will remain sunny and mostly clear at this night due to high pressure and hot ridge over the region (see figure 1) which keep dry and relatively warm weather for this day and next day.   

The synoptic analysis gives us a good news for next few days. The 500 mb`s map (see figure 2) illustrates a trough and becoming positively tilt during next week bushing toward Great Lakes and Central or Ohio Valley. This will bring a chance of rain for most of Ohio Valley but still the chance of precipitation will be weak over South- Central of Kentucky to just 20-30% on Monday because the precipitation will split and disintegrate south and east and will not be concentrated in one side.

Summary

Good afternoon everyone!

While today will still be pretty warm we do have some cooling temperatures in sight. That nasty ridge that has been keeping these summertime conditions looks to be pushed off by early next week which will better allow for some nicer temperatures. Temperatures are expected to reach 95° today. Tomorrow will cool a little to 93°. Friday will be closer to 90°. There is a slight chance for spotted showers Thursday and Friday night.

Have a fun, safe week!

It was another hot day today; we reached a high temperature of 95°F under sunny skies. We do however have a slight chance for isolated thunderstorms this evening, and we can expect cloud cover to increase into the night. Overnight expect partly cloudy skies and a low temperature of 71°F.
Tomorrow is looking to be another hot day, as temperatures return to the mid-90s. The cloud cover should clear up throughout the day, however partly cloudy skies will return tomorrow evening. Tomorrow night we will cool off again as the temperature drops into the upper-60s by Wednesday morning.
Wednesday will again be hot and sunny, as high temperatures return to the mid-90s

Some people feel pessimistic because of dry weather and lack of rainfall but they may not know that the current weather is a perfect for farmers so far because it is time to dry up their crops and harvest it. What I do know is that tonight the United States will have passed through a rare astronomical phenomenon that only recurs once every 30 years. Harvest Moon is a traditional name among the farmers and it is anther name for full moon. It is called Harvest Moon because it comes at the height of the harvest during three days and it will be available to see for most people who live in US. According to NASA, this moon was historically aided in a special way for farmers who used to rely on moonlight during the harvest. I am happy to see the tonight`s moon because it is a very rare event as will be the first visible moon that across the United States. The last one was in October 13, 2000. The next full moon is unlikely to happen again for another 30 years on August 13, 2049.

The weather will likely remain calm, stable and hot with high temperature 96 °F and low 67 °F except we might see isolated showers and thunderstorms in some parts. This night will be partly cloudy and variable wind after midnight. In synoptic scale, a cold front is moving now to Indiana and western Kentucky. It it is not deep moist convergence but with deep layer shear after few hours, there might be rain, lightning and gusty wind during this night.

Summary for next few days

Near record heat once again for this mid-September day. We peaked out at 96 degrees, which is only 2 degrees off the high set back in 1939. While Kentucky natives know full well that it is not unheard of for start of September to be quite hot, it’s worth noting that we have been running 10+ degrees above average for the past few days. Tomorrow will be hot and dry once again. We’ll be waking up to temps in the low 70s and ending up around 95 for our afternoon high. Humidity will be a big factor with DPs near 70 just like today.

However, things will change just a little bit as we move past Friday. A cold front will sweep through the area bring a very slight change of some showers late Friday night. Behind the front is where we’ll find our relief: cooler, drier air. Highs will still be above our average of 84 for this time of year, but the DPs will finally get knocked down into the low 60s. If you have any gardening or lawn care plans this weekend, Saturday is definitely the more pleasant day to get those outdoor tasks completed.

While Sunday will be hot with temps in the low 90s, it won’t feel too oppressive considering the DPs will still be around 60. Lows for both Sunday and Monday morning will be around 65 degrees.

With mostly clear skies and highs near or above 90 for the next few days, it’s weekends like these that make us wish that the pools stayed open just a little while longer. If you have access to one, maybe get out there and enjoy a good cookout with family and friends if at all possible. Otherwise, make sure to stay hydrated at any outdoor events such as the big WKU vs UofL game Saturday at 3:00. No, beer does not count as a source of hydration and can even exacerbate the problem when people are dehydrated. Again, stay safe and enjoy your weekend!

Unfortunately it has been nothing but hot and muggy lately and that does not look to change. A strong upper level ridge has planted itself over top of us causing these conditions to remain. There’s not much to say other than to just hold on the best you can for fall and winter will be here before you know it!

• SUMMARY:
  • Wednesday:
    • High: 95
    • Low: 70
  • Thursday:
    • High: 94
    • Low: 69
  • Friday:
    • High: 95
    • Low: 68

Stay safe and have a great week!