After a stormy final weekend of June you couldn’t have asked for a better start to July on Monday across Central and Eastern Kentucky. With high pressure to the north kicking in a fresh northeast breeze along with drier air, it felt absolutely fantastic to be out and about. Even with all the bright sunshine around, afternoon highs only managed to reach the upper 70s and low 80s thanks to the cooler breeze as most locations ended up below average for highs to begin the new month. The break from typical July weather won’t last long as we head into Tuesday as high pressure to our north drifts eastward allowing the warmth and moisture to work back into the Ohio Valley. It should be noticeable more humid again on Tuesday as a few scattered clouds drift in  ahead of a mid-week storm system. Even with those clouds around it looks to be a warm and muggy day with afternoon highs running back into the upper 80s to around 90 degrees with the muggy air setting up shop for the next several days. The Fourth of July holiday is on the horizon and it appears Mother Nature could provide some fireworks of her own into Wednesday and Thursday as a frontal boundary and a few waves of energy move through the region. Wednesday look hot with afternoon highs in the low 90s and with a frontal boundary dropping in we should see a few late day storm develop that will continue into the overnight. Right now The Storm Prediction Center has the Bluegrass Region and points to the north and west under a Level 2 severe risk (out of 5) with damaging winds being the primary threat. Unfortunately our weather looks unsettled and stormy for Independence Day as another wave of energy keeps the shower and thunderstorm chances around much of the day on Thursday. Of course this is likely to impact outdoor festivities for the holiday so keep that in mind and plan ahead. With the clouds and rain around, afternoon highs should remain in the upper 80s Thursday, which is right around average for this time of the year. Heading into the lengthy holiday weekend (for some) we are set up for more typical conditions for the early part of July. Afternoon highs will mainly be in the upper 80s with humid air in place daily. With a few weak waves of energy sliding through expect additional storm chances Friday (some strong) with more isolated activity through the remainder of the weekend. Even though the timing could be better, the latest drought monitor has parts of the area “abnormally dry” so we could use some consistent rain chances as many of the area lawns are starting to get pretty dry. ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear and cool. Lows in the upper-50s. TUESDAY: A few clouds, heating back up. Highs in the upper-80s to around 90 degrees. TUESDAY NIGHT: Fair skies, warm and muggy. Lows in the low-70s. Categories: Featured, Local Weather Headlines, Storm Team Weather Blog, Weather, Weather Forecast Tags: 2024, 4th of July Weather, ABC 36, ABC 36 News Now, ABC 36 Storm Team Forecast, Chief Meteorologist TG Shuck, heating up, Humid, July, Level 2 Severe Risk, scattered storms