After a damp finish to the weekend across Central and Eastern Kentucky we saw more of the same to kick off the week across the region. With a cold front moving in from the west and plenty of moisture streaming northward from the gulf, persistent showers kept things damp and dreary through the day. One positive is that afternoon highs were on the mild side in the upper 50s to around 60 degrees thanks to a strong southwest breeze with winds gusting 30 to 35 miles per hour at times. The frontal boundary should drop just to our south on Tuesday before stalling out but it should be far enough away to allow some drier air to briefly move back into the commonwealth. This will allow a return of some welcomed sunshine after a few dreary days. Temperatures still look good for the middle of December with afternoon highs expected to be in the mid to upper 50s so it should be a very pleasant day. You’ll want to enjoy that as more unsettled weather returns heading into the late week. Expect our rain chances to ramp up again Wednesday as a wave of low pressure slides right through the heart of the Ohio Valley. This will set us up for another soaking rain event through the mid-week with most locations potentially picking up around an inch of rain give or take. Combine that with wet ground from showers in recent days and we could see some ponding of water in some of the low lying areas but we shouldn’t see any major issues. Temperatures will continue to stay above the curve with highs in the low 50s Wednesday before drier and cooler air returns. High pressure will take hold on Thursday with sunshine back in the picture but afternoon highs will only recover into the low 40s at best. A fast moving clipper system will dive into the Great Lakes to close out the week on Friday bringing some scattered clouds and the potential for a few rain and/or snow showers depending on location. Areas well to our north will see the bulk of this system so we shouldn’t see much of an impact. With temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s anything that falls could be a few raindrops or snowflakes but nothing to get excited about. This system will usher in some legitimate cold air so it will definitely feel like the heart of the holiday season this weekend just as the winter solstice occurs. There will be plenty of sunshine around but it will be cold as afternoon highs struggle into the low to mid-30s with early morning lows in the upper teens and low 20s. ABC 36 HOUR FORECAST MONDAY NIGHT: Showers ending then partly cloudy. Lows in the upper-30s. TUESDAY: Mostly sunny and pleasant. Highs in the mid-50s. TUESDAY NIGHT: Clouds increase with rain returning. Lows in the upper-30s and low-40s. Categories: Featured, Local Weather Headlines, Storm Team Weather Blog, Weather, Weather Forecast Tags: ABC 36, ABC 36 News Now, ABC 36 Storm Team Forecast, Chief Meteorologist TG Shuck, December, mild temperatures, scattered rain, unsettled weather pattern, Winter Solstice