textproduct: Louisville

KEY MESSAGES

* Highs tomorrow will be in the upper 70s to low 80s before clouds form tomorrow afternoon.

* Low rain chances for areas north of the Bluegrass (30-40%) while areas southern areas likely remain dry (75%) Saturday

* Heat builds in Sunday with highs in the low to mid 80s

* High uncertainty with the general unsettled weather pattern for next week with daily rain chances beginning Monday morning

SHORT TERM /THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/

Issued at 303 PM EDT Thu Apr 9 2026

The rest of the afternoon will be warm and pleasant area wide. A low level jet will be exiting to the north, though wind gusts of 20-25 MPH are still possible north of the Ohio in the next 3 hours or so. Sunny skies are spread across the whole area and with high temperatures in the low to upper 70s, today will be an excellent day to be outdoors soaking in sun. With clear skies overnight, low temperatures will be a little chilly in the upper 40s to low 50s.

Friday morning, southerly flow and sunny skies to start will boost temperatures into the low to mid 70s. Noticeably, by late morning and lunch time, clouds will increase as a weak cold front from a departing low pressure will sneak in from the north very slowly. Clouds will thicken in the afternoon to evening hours and some rain showers or even a thunderstorm will sag into our northern communities. With some instability from daytime heating, thunder can't be ruled out, though no severe weather is expected as stronger shear and CAPE values remain out of the area. Onset timing for showers will most likely start between 9 pm - midnight (75% chance of this timing), though rain could hold off until as late as the predawn hours. These spotty showers or storms will then continue into the overnight and early Saturday morning with lows in the low to mid 50s.

LONG TERM /SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/

Issued at 303 PM EDT Thu Apr 9 2026

Saturday morning begins mostly cloudy except for southern regions near Bowling Green and points south with more breaks in the clouds. Rain showers linger into the morning and early afternoon as the cold front stalls right over our CWA, draped generally in a NW - SE direction. Those near the TN border may remain dry (75% chance of no rain) while places north of this cold front especially north of the Ohio will see anywhere from a trace to 0.2" (90%) of rain by Saturday evening. Highs on Saturday will be cooler in the north in the low 70s north of the Bluegrass to near 80 closer to the TN border. Any spotty showers end Saturday night as a band of clouds from the front moves northeast and dissipates ahead of an amplified ridge coming in from the west.

So by Sunday, early morning lows will be in the low to upper 50s. However, with the ridge coming in, SW flow will quickly warm high temperatures into the low to mid 80s. This level of heat moving in with current forecasted temperatures may reach near record high temperatures, with 90th percentile highs reaching the upper 80s, but this isn't a guarantee so its something worth noting. Clouds will increase ahead of an incoming shortwave Sunday night which will limit daytime heating. Showers or maybe a storm could move in Sunday night into Monday morning. Rain will be rather spotty as well, with not everyone seeing rainfall from this shortwave.

The rest of the forecast period seems rather unsettled, with variable low rain possibilities from Monday through at least Thursday. Starting Monday morning, the amplified ridge will slowly drag to the east and a trough centered over the Great Plains will stall somewhere to our west. This trough will act as a roadway for shortwave disturbances to travel close by, creating pop-up showers and storms. As long as we stay to the east of the trough, above normal temperatures with a SW flow are expected along with dewpoints running high. Current total rainfall guidance is right-skewed with a consensus on rainfall totals under 1.5" by Friday, though more robust solutions are producing totals closer to 2.5" inches by the end of next week. This is something we will monitor for any severe potential and drought relief with this pattern setup.

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/

Issued at 125 PM EDT Thu Apr 9 2026

VFR conditions will continue for the entire forecast period, as high pressure off the east coast is keeps us dry. The remnants of a low- level jet are moving out to the north, though gusts near 20 MPH will still be possible this afternoon in northwestern areas, mainly HNB and SDF. Winds will die down as the sun sets though. Skies remain clear overnight with some high and eventually mid level clouds streaming in later Friday morning. In spite of this, there will be another low level jet Friday morning ahead of a weakening cold front. The jet may briefly dip for a couple hours as far south as HNB or SDF airports but confidence is low on the positioning of this jet and this was not included in their TAFs. Otherwise, VFR conditions continue into Friday afternoon with increasing mid level clouds.

LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

KY...None. IN...None.