Kentucky Climate Summary -- January through December 1995 By Tom Priddy, UK Ag. Weather Center January: Very mild and wet. Temperatures for the month of January were in the mid 30's across the state which was 3 to 4 degrees above normal statewide. The Western part of the state was 3.1, Central 3.2, Bluegrass 3.7 and East 3.2 degrees above normal. Rainfall totals averaged near 4.70 inches statewide which was nearly 1.40 inch above normal. By climate zone, the Western part of the state was 0.32, Central 0.88, Bluegrass 1.21, and East 2.41 inches above normal. Snowfall for the month was light for the West, however, the rest of the state received heavier snowfalls. Williamstown received 6.6 inches, Lexington received 2.0 inches, Jackson 7.3 inches and Covington reported over 16 inches of snowfall in January. February: Dry with seasonal temperatures. Temperatures for the month of February were in the mid to upper 30's across the state which was near to slightly below normal statewide. The Western part of the state was 0.4, Central -0.2, Bluegrass -0.7 and East -1.4 degrees from normal. Rainfall totals averaged near 3.11 inches statewide which was 0.57 inches below normal. By climate zone, the Western part of the state was -0.45, Central -1.03, Bluegrass -0.87, and East -0.19 inches from normal. Monthly snowfall totals varied from 2.0 inches in the West (Paducah), to 4 to 8 inches in the Bluegrass (Lexington and Covington), and East (Jackson) reported nearly 7 inches. March: Mild and very dry. Temperatures for the month of March were in the upper 40's to near 50 degrees which was 2 to 3 degrees above normal statewide. The Western part of the state was 3.0, Central 2.6, Bluegrass 2.5 and East 2.1 degrees above normal. Rainfall totals averaged near 3.07 inches statewide which was -1.59 inches from normal. By climate zone, the Western part of the state was -2.57, Central -1.32, Bluegrass -1.43, and East -1.17 inches from normal. Monthly snowfall totals were light in the West (Paducah) with 0.2 inches, to 6.7 inches in the East (Jackson). April: Slightly above normal temperatures with slightly below normal rainfall. Temperatures for the month of April averaged in the mid to upper 50's which was 0.9 degrees above normal statewide. The Western part of the state was 1.3, Central 1.0, Bluegrass 0.8 and East 0.5 degrees above normal. Rainfall totals averaged near 3.89 inches statewide which was -0.42 inches from normal. By climate zone, the Western part of the state was -0.89, Central -0.42, Bluegrass -0.04, and East -0.46 inches from normal. The final hard freeze of the spring occurred around April 5th with morning low temperatures dropping to the low to mid 20's statewide. May: Very wet with seasonal temperatures. Temperatures for the month of May averaged in the low to mid 60's which was slightly below normal statewide. The Western part of the state was normal, Central 0.4, Bluegrass -0.2 and East -0.9 degrees from normal. Rainfall totals averaged near 9.19 inches statewide which was 4.41 inches above normal. By climate zone, the Western part of the state was 3.74, Central 5.99, Bluegrass 4.40, and East 3.71 inches above normal. June: Seasonal temperatures with near normal rainfall. Temperatures for the month of June averaged in the low to mid 70's which was near to slightly above normal statewide. The Western part of the state was -0.3, Central -0.4, Bluegrass 1.1 and East 0.1 degrees from normal. Rainfall totals averaged near 4.37 inches statewide which was 0.45 inches above normal. By climate zone, the Western part of the state was 0.64, Central 0.20, Bluegrass 0.59, and East 0.37 inches from normal. Days with temperatures greater than 90 were much above normal for West and Central locations. July: Mild and very dry. Temperatures for the month of July averaged in the mid to upper 70's which was 1 to 2 degrees above normal statewide. The Western part of the state was 0.8, Central 1.1, Bluegrass 1.9 and East 1.3 degrees above normal. Rainfall totals averaged near 3.11 inches statewide which was -1.65 inches from normal. By climate zone, the Western part of the state was 0.30, Central -1.94, Bluegrass -1.92, and East -2.76 inches from normal. Days with temperatures greater than or equal to 90 degrees (F) were much above normal and varied from 21 days in the West to 14 days in the East. August: Very hot and dry. Temperatures for the month of August averaged in the upper 70's to low 80's which was 4 to 6 degrees above normal statewide. The Western part of the state was 5.2, Central 5.1, Bluegrass 5.6 and East 4.5 degrees above normal. Rainfall totals averaged near 3.64 inches statewide which was -0.15 inches from normal. By climate zone, the Western part of the state was 0.20, Central -0.04, Bluegrass 0.21, and East -0.84 inches from normal. Nearly twice the normal number of days with temperatures equal to or greater than 90 degrees (F) were reported statewide. September: Cool and dry. Temperatures for the month of September averaged in the mid 60's which was 1 to 2 degree below normal statewide. The Western part of the state was -1.6, Central -1.2, Bluegrass -1.1 and East -1.4 degrees from normal. Rainfall totals averaged near 2.59 inches statewide which was -1.01 inches from normal. By climate zone, the Western part of the state was -1.88, Central -1.45, Bluegrass -1.11, and East 0.00 inches from normal. The number of days that temperatures were equal to or greater than 90 degrees (F) was 1 to 2 days statewide. October: Wet with mild temperatures. Temperatures for the month of October averaged in the mid to upper 50's which was 1 to 2 degree above normal statewide. The Western part of the state was 0.9, Central 1.0, Bluegrass 1.3 and East 2.1 degrees above normal. Rainfall totals averaged near 5.05 inches statewide which was 2.05 inches above normal much of this due to Hurricane Opal. By climate zone, the Western part of the state was 0.78, Central 3.26, Bluegrass 2.52, and East 1.76 inches above normal. No days with temperatures equal to or greater than 90 degrees (F) were reported. November: Cool and dry. November was a roller coaster month for temperatures...with variations in high temperatures as much as 20 to 25 degrees from day to day for some periods. On the whole, ...it was a cold month. Extreme high temperatures were very mild in the mid to upper 70's and extreme lows dipped into the teens in some northern locations. The average statewide temperature was 41.4 degrees which was 5.1 degrees below normal and below normal for all four climate zones in the state. The statewide rainfall total was 4.01 inches. This was 0.03 inches above normal for the state. By climate division, only the Eastern climate zone received above normal rainfall. Rainfall deviations were; West ..-0.54 inches, Central..-0.22 inches, Bluegrass..-0.45 inches, and East..+0.71 inches. Snowfall occurred on at least two occasions..on the 13th and 27th. Although not much coverage occurred for most of the state, except in Eastern locations on the 27th..Jackson reported over 4.0 inches of snow on the ground. Lexington reported a total snowfall of 1.1 inches for the month. Snowfall didn't stick around long..but it was above normal in the Bluegrass and Eastern climate zones. December: Cool and dry. Below normal temperatures and precipitation from November 1995 continued into December 1995. The average temperature for the state was 34.8 degrees (F) which was 1.9 degrees below normal as shown in Figure 1. Maximum temperatures averaged in the upper 30s to mid 40s. Minimum temperatures averaged in the upper 20s to near 30 degrees. By climate zone, West was -1.0 degrees, Central was -1.3, Bluegrass -2.3 and East was -2.3 degrees from normal as shown in Figure 2. There was considerable variation in extreme temperatures with an extended period of extreme high temperatures in the upper 60s to low 70s and extreme low temperatures near zero degrees (F), near the middle of the month. Temperatures were also cooler in the Northern part of the state with a deviation from normal of 1 to 6 degrees below normal. Some Southern-tier counties in Kentucky reported near to slightly above normal temperatures for the month. Rainfall was below normal for the month, however, precipitation was not uncommon. Cloudy days with flurries were frequent. Many locations received near 1 inch rainfall in a 24-hour period during the middle to the month. For the state as a whole, 2.48 inches of total precipitation (including rain and melted snow) was received which was -1.80 inches from normal, as shown in Figure 3. Deviation from normal by climate zone as shown in Figure 4, West was -2.35 inches, Central -2.22 in., Bluegrass -1.03, and East was -1.73 inches from normal. Further division in precipitation was found from Northern to Southern parts of the state. The Northern half of the state received generally 2 to 3 inches which was 1 to 2 inches below normal and the South half of the state received 1 to 2 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation which was 2 to 3 inches below normal. Considerable snowfall occurred with West and Central generally receiving 1 to 2 inches, Bluegrass 2 to 4 inches and East 6 to 8 inches. Lexington reported 22 days with a trace or more of precipitation with almost half of those days with flurries. Soil moisture was generally adequate to surplus. For the period January through December 1995: Mild with near to slightly above normal rainfall statewide. Temperatures averaged about 0.5 degrees above normal for the year. Five (5) months received below normal temperatures; February, May, September, November and December. All other months reported slightly above to above normal temperatures. There were several periods of significant weather changes that adversely affected Kentucky agricultural production. The first significant weather period was a very mild and dry period that started in February and continued through mid April. The second significant weather period was a cool and very wet second half of April, May and part of June. The third significant weather period was the extremely hot and dry July and August. The final significant period was a very wet October. Snowfall totals for January through April were above normal for most locations in the Bluegrass and East climate zones but closer to normal for West and Central locations. The statewide rainfall total for the period January through December was 49.21 inches which was 1.07 inches above normal, yet rainfall for the year had its lean periods. By climate zone, the Western zone was 2 inches below normal rainfall; Central, Bluegrass and Eastern Climate zones were 1 to 2 inches above normal rainfall for the year. Seven (7) months out of the year Kentucky received below to much below normal rainfall. January, May and October received much above normal rainfall. The weather pattern for the period January through December 1995 had its ups and downs when considered in total and was far from optimum for most crop growth and development. The generally mild and dry February and March promoted early field work and planting. Extremely wet and a prolonged cooler period in May halted most field work, created replanting problems and resulted in root growth and development problems later in the growing season. After May, the rainfall pattern turned dry with increasingly warmer temperatures as the summer progressed; to near record levels by August. Extremely hot August temperatures and the persistently dry summer hindered crop grow and development to the point of reducing crop yields below optimum. A return to wet conditions in October due, in part, to the remnants of Hurricane Opal promoted tobacco stripping conditions but provided little relief to improve crop yield and provided some delay to harvest operations and field working conditions. The first hard freeze of the fall season occurred on November 4th with temperatures in the teens to low 20s. November and December were both cold and relatively dry which caused considerable delays with stripping of tobacco. Snowfall for November and December was generally 2 to 4 inches above normal. Daily, weekly and monthly climate summaries are available from the UK Agricultural Weather Center on the College of Agriculture's World Wide Web Homepage (http://www.ca.uky.edu) and upon request. Requests should include email, fax number or postal address. Tom Priddy Extension Agricultural Meteorologist Agricultural Weather Center Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering College of Agriculture University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40546 Ph: (606)-257 5850 Fax: (606)-257 5671 Email: tpriddy@ca.uky.edu Figure 1. Kentucky Monthly Temperature Departures--Statewide Figure 2. Kentucky Monthly Temperature Departures--By Climate Zone Figure 3. Kentucky Monthly Rainfall Departures--Statewide Figure 4. Kentucky Monthly Rainfall Departures--By Climate Zone