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KENTUCKY MONTHLY AND ANNUAL CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR -- 2000 By: Tom Priddy, Erin Maxwell--UK Agricultural Weather Center * Based on Preliminary Data. Graphs of Kentucky Monthly Temperature and Rainfall available at: http://wwwagwx.ca.uky.edu/climgraphs/ and weekly graphs available within the UKAWC Kentucky Weather Information Web site. --- Kentucky Climate Summary: December 2000 BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION: December 2000 will go into the record books as the FOURTH COLDEST December for the state of Kentucky in the past 106 years. The coldest December was in 1989 with an average temperature of 25.3 degrees. For several locations, it was the coldest December on record: Paducah, Louisville, Lexington and Jackson all reported record- breaking cold temperatures for December. Numerous Arctic cold fronts moved through the Ohio Valley during the month providing snowcover and bitter cold temperatures for much of the month. Some Eastern locations reported greater than 20 days with snowcover. Freezing temperatures started on December 17 and stayed below freezing for the remainder of the month. Near-record high temperatures and rainfall ocurred on December 16th. Also noteworthy...for the period November and December 2000...it was the second coldest on record with an average temperature of 35.1 degrees...only beat out by November and December of 1917 with an average temperature of 34.3 degrees. The warmest November thru December period was in 1931 with an average temperature of 49.5 degrees. Temperatures for the month averaged 26.3 degrees across the state which was 10.2 degrees BELOW NORMAL. High temperatures averaged from 33 in the West to 36 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 14 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the West to 9 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 19 degrees in the West to 22 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from 10 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the West to 2 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the East. Extreme high temperatures were in the upper 50's to low 60's and extreme low temperatures were in the single digits both positive and negative. Precipitation (liq. equ.) for the month totaled 4.50 inches statewide which was 1.05 inches ABOVE NORMAL. Precipitation totals by climate division, West 3.87 inches, Central 4.72 inches, Bluegrass 4.76 inches and East 4.63 inches, which was -0.74, -0.06, 0.79 and 0.79 inches respectively from NORMAL. By station, precipitation totals ranged from a low of 1.49 inches at Mayfield to a high of 5.03 inches at Glasgow. Considerable snowfall occurred across the Commonwealth during the month with some locations reporting record monthly snowfall totals. Paducah received a record 6.8 inches, Louisville 13.9 inches (the most in 61 years in December), Lexington 5.8 inches, Jackson 10.0 inches. Kentucky 12/ 1/2000 to 12/31/2000 Temperature Precipitation cd temp norm dev prcp norm dev percent 1 26.1 37.5 -11.5 3.87 4.61 -0.74 84 2 26.1 37.4 -11.3 4.72 4.79 -0.06 99 3 24.9 36.1 -11.2 4.76 3.97 0.79 120 4 27.5 36.7 -9.3 4.63 3.84 0.79 121 State 26.3 36.5 -10.2 4.50 4.27 0.23 105 --- Kentucky Climate Summary: November 2000 BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION: November 2000 was the coldest November since 1991 and will go into the record books as the 32nd coldest November for the past 106 years and the 41st driest November since 1896. Both near-record high temperatures AND near-record low's occurred during the month. On November 2nd high temperatures soared into the low 80's (Paducah 83), and on November 22nd low temperatures plunged into the mid to upper teens. For some locations both of these extremes were record events. The first week of November received above normal temperatures, but the remainder of the month suffered from below normal temperatures. All four weekly summaries indicated below normal precipitation for the state as a whole. Yet...the Western half of the state received more rainfall and finished the month with slightly above normal rainfall...than did the Eastern half which ended the month with below normal rainfall. The first measureable snow was reported on November 20/21 with no significant accumulation (Jackson 0.9 inches of snow for the month). Temperatures for the month averaged 44.1 degrees across the state which was 2.7 degrees BELOW NORMAL. High temperatures averaged from 54 in the West to 54 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 6 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the West to 2 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 36 degrees in the West to 36 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from 2 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the West to 2 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the East. For monthly average temperatures by climate division...West 45.4 degrees (-2.6 degrees from normal); Central 44.9 (-2.3 degrees); Bluegrass 43.0 (-3.1); and East 43.2 degrees (-2.9 degrees from normal temperature). Precipitation (liq. equ.) for November 2000 totaled 3.14 inches statewide which was 0.88 inches BELOW NORMAL and 78 percent of normal rainfall. Precipitation totals by climate division, West 4.47 inches (103 percent of normal), Central 3.74 inches (87 percent of normal), Bluegrass 2.51 inches (68 percent) and East 2.11 inches (56 percent), which was +0.13, -0.57, -1.20 and -1.66 inches respectively from normal. By station, precipitation totals ranged from a low of 1.11 inches at Quicksand to a high of 4.77 inches at Paducah. Kentucky 11/ 1/2000 to 11/30/2000 Temperature Precipitation cd temp norm dev prcp norm dev percent 1 45.4 48.0 -2.6 4.47 4.34 0.13 103 2 44.9 47.3 -2.3 3.74 4.31 -0.57 87 3 43.0 46.2 -3.1 2.51 3.71 -1.20 68 4 43.2 46.1 -2.9 2.11 3.76 -1.66 56 State 44.1 46.8 -2.7 3.14 4.02 -0.88 78 --- Kentucky Climate Summary: October 2000 ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL: Usually Kentucky's driest month of the year, October 2000 will go into the record books as the 8th driest October since 1896. And...the very mild temperatures for October didn't keep Kentucky from having one of the earliest frosts since 1987....Oct 8, 9 &10 for most locations. Also...the Jackson NWS Office reported 11 days with fog. Temperatures for October 2000 averaged 59.4 degrees across the state which was 2.4 degrees ABOVE normal. High temperatures averaged from 75 in the West to 73 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from +3 degrees from normal in the West to +5 degrees from normal in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 49 degrees in the West to 46 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from NEAR normal in the West to NEAR normal in the East. Extreme high temperatures were in the mid to upper 80's...many of which were record or near record maximum temperatures in Western KY (Paducah, 88 10/3,4,5). October also had extreme low temperatures that broke record low temperatures on Oct 8,9 & 10. Rainfall for the month totaled 0.89 inches statewide which was 2.04 inches BELOW normal. Precipitation totals by climate division, West 0.91 inches, Central 0.71 inches, Bluegrass 0.98 inches and East 0.95 inches, which was 2.18, 2.34, 1.78 and 1.90 inches respectively BELOW normal. By Kentucky station, precipitation totals ranged from a low of 0.38 inches at Bardstown to a high of 1.45 inches at Mayfield. By the end of October...the Palmer Drought Severity Index indicated both West and Central KY areas had again returned to the MODERATE hydrologic drought category. Bluegrass and Eastern KY areas continued in the NEAR NORMAL category, but had slipped slightly. The Crop Moisture Index indicated that most of the state was in the TOPSOIL MOISTURE SHORT, GERMINATION SLOW category. Kentucky 10/ 1/2000 to 10/31/2000 Temperature Precipitation cd temp norm dev prcp norm dev percent 1 61.4 58.5 2.9 0.91 3.10 -2.18 29 2 60.5 57.3 3.2 0.71 3.04 -2.34 23 3 58.6 56.5 2.2 0.98 2.76 -1.78 36 4 57.6 56.0 1.6 0.95 2.85 -1.90 33 State 59.4 57.0 2.4 0.89 2.93 -2.04 30 --- Kentucky Climate Summary: September 2000 BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND RAINFALL: Temperatures for September 2000 averaged 67 degrees across the state which was 1 degree BELOW NORMAL. High temperatures averaged from 80 in the West to 76 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 1 degree BELOW NORMAL in the West to 1 degree BELOW NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 57 degrees in the West to 57 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from NEAR NORMAL in the West to 1 degree ABOVE NORMAL in the East. Record low temperatures occurred on Sept. 17th (Paducah 42 degrees). Record low maximum temperatures occurred on Sept. 26 (Lexington 59 degrees) and record high daily rainfall on Sept. 25th (Louisville 1.38 inches). Rainfall for September 2000 totaled 3.16 inches statewide which was 0.44 inches BELOW NORMAL, 88 percent of normal. Rainfall totals by climate division, West 3.45 inches, Central 2.78 inches, Bluegrass 3.69 inches and East 2.85 inches, which was +0.05, -1.17 , +0.24 and -0.75 inches respectively from normal. By station, rainfall totals ranged from a low of 1.47 inches at Cumberland Gap in the Southeast section of the state to a high of 5.36 inches at UK's Spindletop Research Farm in Lexington. By the end of September drought conditions continued to presist in the Western half of the Commonwealth but had improved significantly in the Eastern half. West Ky ended the month in Incipient hydrologic drought category; Central in Mild drought and Bluegrass and Eastern Ky areas had ended the drought and were in the Moist Spell category. West Ky needed 2.16 inches of above normal rainfall to end the drought; Central needed 3.35 inches. /ktp Kentucky 9/ 1/2000 to 9/30/2000 Temperature Precipitation cd temp norm dev prcp norm dev percent 1 69.1 69.9 -0.8 3.45 3.40 0.05 101 2 68.1 68.7 -0.7 2.78 3.94 -1.17 70 3 65.9 67.8 -1.9 3.69 3.45 0.24 107 4 66.0 67.4 -1.3 2.85 3.60 -0.75 79 State 67.2 68.4 -1.2 3.16 3.60 -0.44 88 --- Kentucky Climate Summary: August 2000 NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL: Very cool, wet conditions in Eastern U.S. along the Atlantic seaboard and extremely hot, dry conditions in Southern U.S. split the Bluegrass State in the middle fringe area of both extremes. Wide variation of weather occurred across the Bluegrass State during August 2000. While cooler, wetter conditions dominated Eastern KY...Western KY was very hot/dry... and cancelled out monthly statewide temperature/rainfall departures to near zero. Jackson received only 1 day with the daily high temperature of 90 degrees... while Paducah reported 13 days with high temperatures greater or equal to 90 degrees...several days near 100 degrees. Temperature extremes were near 100 degrees (F) in Western KY but near 90 in the East. Eastern Ky was wet...Western KY was much drier. Eastern KY reported 22 days with fog and 12 days with measurable rainfall...Western KY reported only 7 days with measurable rainfall. By month's end, the Palmer Drought Severity Index indicated that the West, Central and Bluegrass areas were in MILD hydrologic drought and Eastern KY was in the MOIST SPELL category. The Crop Moisture Index indicated generally adequate moisture for agricultural purposes...slightly drier in Western KY. Temperatures for August 2000 averaged 75 degrees across the state which was 0 degrees from normal (NEAR NORMAL). High temperatures averaged from 89 in the West to 83 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 1 degree ABOVE NORMAL in the West to 1 degree BELOW NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 67 degrees in the West to 64 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from 3 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the West to 1 degree ABOVE NORMAL in the East. Rainfall for August 2000 totaled 4.06 inches statewide which was 0.24 inches ABOVE NORMAL. Precipitation totals by climate division, West 2.96 inches, Central 4.66 inches, Bluegrass 4.02 inches and East 4.50 inches, which was -0.63, +0.85, +0.03 and +0.62 inches respectively from normal. By station, precipitation totals ranged from a low of 1.07 inches at Mayfield to a high of 6.34 inches at Quicksand. Kentucky 8/ 1/2000 to 8/31/2000 Temperature Precipitation cd temp norm dev prcp norm dev percent 1 78.0 76.5 1.5 2.96 3.59 -0.63 82 2 76.1 75.1 0.9 4.66 3.82 0.85 122 3 73.5 74.3 -0.9 4.02 3.98 0.03 101 4 72.5 73.7 -1.2 4.50 3.88 0.62 116 State 74.8 74.8 0.0 4.06 3.82 0.24 106 --- Kentucky Climate Summary: July 2000 Tom Priddy/Erin Maxwell UK Ag. Weather Center BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL: What some weather forecasters expected to be one of the driest and hottest July's turned out to be one of the coolest July's on record (13th to be exact) with above normal rainfall. Unlike last year when soils baked across the Bluegrass state and temperatures hit the 100 degree mark on several occassions... this July was a teddy bear with no high's of 100 and timely rainfall providing the potential for bumper crops. Oh....what a difference those weak La Nina sea-surface temperatures had on Kentucky and the Ohio Valley this year! While there was some severe weather, high winds and hail reported this July...it's been a fairly good month for agriculture. Humidities were high but temperatures were on the cool side the majority of the time. Louisville had only three (3) days this July with high temperatures greater than 90 degrees....that's compared to 21 times during July 1999. Temperatures for July 2000 averaged 74.5 degrees across the state which was 1.6 degrees BELOW NORMAL. High temperatures averaged from 87 in the West to 83 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 3 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the West to 3 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 66 degrees in the West to 64 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from NEAR NORMAL in the West to 1 degree BELOW NORMAL in the East. Extreme high temperatures were in the low 90's and extreme low temperature were in the upper 50's. Jackson KY had a record low of 58 degrees on July 20th beating the old record by 2 degrees. While the Western section of the state received less rain than the Eastern sections (nearly 2 inches less), a good soaking occurred on the last weekend of the month improving most areas drought status. At the beginning of July most of the state (West, Central & Bluegrass) was in MODERATE hydrologic drought, according to the Palmer Drought Severity Index. But by month's end, timely rainfall had ended the drought in Eastern Kentucky and improved West and Bluegrass areas to the MILD hydrologic drought category. Central continued in MODERATE drought. Rainfall for July 2000 totaled 4.68 inches statewide which was 0.18 inches ABOVE NORMAL. Rainfall totals by climate division, West 3.87 inches, Central 4.58 inches, Bluegrass 4.38 inches and East 5.56 inches, which was -0.12, -0.16, -0.25 and +0.91 inches respectively from normal. By station, rainfall totals ranged from a low of 1.79 inches at Bowling Green to a high of 5.69 inches at Jackson. Kentucky July 2000 Temperature Precipitation cd temp norm dev prcp norm dev percent 1 76.8 78.0 -1.2 3.87 3.99 -0.12 97 2 75.6 76.4 -0.8 4.58 4.74 -0.16 97 3 73.4 75.5 -2.2 4.38 4.64 -0.25 95 4 72.6 74.7 -2.0 5.56 4.65 0.91 120 State 74.5 76.1 -1.6 4.68 4.50 0.18 104 --- Kentucky Climate Summary: June 2000* ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND NEAR NORMAL RAINFALL: The first half of June 2000 was dry and cool. A lenghty run of rainfall events from daily, scattered showers and thunderstorms started on June 15th and lasted until month's end which improved the MODERATE/SEVERE hydrologic drought situation to MILD/MODERATE across the Bluegrass state. Southeastern sections of the state and also along the Ohio River received the greater rainfall with 1 to 2 inches above normal for the month. Driest locations were near Bowling Green west to Paducah where departures from normal rainfall was 1 to 2 inches below normal. Temperatures for the period averaged 73 degrees across the state which was 1 degree ABOVE NORMAL and 5 degrees warmer than the previous month. High temperatures averaged from 85 in the West to 83 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 2 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the West to NEAR NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 64 degrees in the West to 63 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged about 1 degree ABOVE NORMAL across the state. Rainfall for the month totaled 4.38 inches statewide which was 0.53 inches ABOVE NORMAL. Rainfall totals by climate division, West 3.60 inches, Central 3.46 inches, Bluegrass 4.88 inches and East 5.30 inches, which was -0.10, -0.47, +1.05 and +1.38 inches respectively from normal. By station, precipitation totals ranged from a low of 1.37 inches at Mayfield to a high of 8.86 inches at Quicksand. --- Kentucky Climate Summary: May 2000* ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND NEAR NORMAL RAINFALL: Very warm temperatures were the rule during the first half of May 2000 but shifted to seasonal during the second half of the month....averaging ABOVE NORMAL for the month. Dry conditions occurred for the first three weeks of May but severe storms provided hail, high winds and tornadoes during the final week of the month...along with much needed rainfall. In fact, the dry conditions had placed the entire state into MODERATE hydrologic long-term drought category according to the Palmer Drought Severity Index. By the end of May 2000, and with significant rainfall due to storms, the state's moisture situation had improved...but only to the MILD hydrologic drought category. The Crop Moisture Index continued to indicate adequate-to-wet short-term soil moisture for agricultural purposes by the end of May 2000. Corn growing degree day accumulations since April 1st ranged from 729 at Covington to over 900 in the Western sections of the state which was 50 GCDD's to 150 GCDD's ABOVE NORMAL. Extreme high temperatreus were near 90 degrees and extreme low temperatures were in the upper 40's. Temperatures for May 2000 averaged 67 degrees across the state which was 2 degrees ABOVE NORMAL and 12 degrees warmer than the previous month. High temperatures averaged from 79 in the West to 78 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 2 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the West to 3 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 59 degrees in the West to 57 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from 3 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the West to 2 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the East. Rainfall for May 2000 totaled 4.70 inches statewide which was within 0.05 inches of NORMAL. Precipitation totals by climate division, West 6.23 inches, Central 5.37 inches, Bluegrass 3.56 inches and East 3.80 inches, which was +1.58, +0.40, -0.99 and -0.70 inches respectively from normal. By station, precipitation totals ranged from a low of 2.26 inches at Bardstown to a high of 6.93 inches at Glasgow. Kentucky May 2000 Temperature Precipitation cd temp norm dev prcp norm dev percent West 68.3 66.6 1.7 6.23 4.65 1.58 134 Cent 67.7 65.1 2.5 5.37 4.97 0.40 108 Blue 66.2 64.1 2.1 3.56 4.55 -0.99 78 East 65.8 63.6 2.2 3.80 4.49 -0.70 84 State 66.9 64.8 2.1 4.70 4.65 0.05 101 --- Kentucky Climate Summary: April 2000* BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL: April of 2000 was a mild but wet month with above normal rainfall amounts and a new weather pattern emerging. Each of the weeks had at least one significant rainfall event in many parts of the state. The month contained many days of little or no sunshine which did not help field activities or plant growth and development. The hydrologic drought has been alleviated for most of the state with the exception of western Kentucky which is still under a MILD drought according to the Palmer Drought Severity Index but ABNORMALLY MOIST soil moisture conditions still continued across the state according to the Crop Moisture Index which also hampered field activities for April. Temperatures for the period averaged 55 degrees across the state which was 1 degree BELOW NORMAL. High temperatures averaged from 68 in the West to 66 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 4 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the West to 1 degree ABOVE NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 44 degrees in the West to 44 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from 2 degrees BELOW NORMAL in the West to 1 degree BELOW NORMAL in the East. Precipitation for the period totaled 4.63 inches statewide which was 0.38 inches ABOVE NORMAL. Precipitation totals by climate division, West 4.28 inches, Central 4.53 inches, Bluegrass 4.41 inches and East 4.94 inches, which was -1.20, +0.22, +0.39 and +0.99 inches respectively from normal. By station, precipitation totals ranged from a low of 2.33 inches at Henderson to a high of 5.49 inches at Cumberland Gap. Kentucky 4/ 1/2000 to 4/30/2000 Temperature Precipitation cd temp norm dev prcp norm dev percent 1 54.9 58.2 -3.3 4.28 4.63 -0.35 92 2 54.0 56.9 -2.9 4.68 4.44 0.24 105 3 52.6 55.2 -2.6 4.35 4.17 0.19 104 4 52.5 55.2 -2.6 5.05 3.88 1.18 130 State 53.5 56.3 -2.8 4.63 4.25 0.38 109 *Based on preliminary data --- Kentucky Climate Summary: March 2000* ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL: March of 2000 was a mild month with a several short periods of seasonal temperatures. Most weeks received below normal rainfall but as similar to both Jan. and Feb at least one very significant rainfall occurred..and for March it occurred during mid-month. Snowfall was nearly non-existant. In fact, March of 2000 continued the cycle of lengthy (2 to 3 week's) dry weather then a significant rainfall event occurred. The pattern continued to keep all of Kentucky in MILD to MODERATE hydrologic, long-term drought according to the Palmer Drought Severity Index but ABNORMALLY MOIST soil moisture conditions for agricultural purposes according to the Crop Moisture Index. The mild temperatures in March also continued the rapid accumulation of Alfalfa Weevil Degree Days, which were 2 to 3 weeks ahead of normal. Temperatures for the month averaged 49 degrees across the state which was 3 degrees ABOVE NORMAL and 7 degrees warmer than March 1999. High temperatures averaged from 63 in the West to 64 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 2 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the West to 10 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 39 degrees in the West to 38 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from 4 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the West to 5 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the East. Between the coldest March of 1960 (31.5 degrees) and the warmest March of 1945 (55.6 degrees), March of 2000 ranked 85th for the 105 year period (1895-2000). Precipitation (liq. equ.) for the month totaled 3.59 inches statewide which was -0.99 inches BELOW NORMAL. Between the driest March of 1910 (0.79") and 1997's wettest March (11.24"), March 2000 ranked 37th for the 105 year period (1895-2000). Precipitation totals by climate division, West 3.84 inches, Central 3.96 inches, Bluegrass 3.53 inches and East 3.16 inches, which was -1.03, -0.85, -0.90 and -1.10 inches respectively BELOW NORMAL. By station, precipitation totals ranged from a low of 1.94 inches at Jackson to a high of 4.30 inches at Mayfield. Kentucky 3/ 1/2000 to 3/31/2000 Temperature Precipitation cd temp norm dev prcp norm dev percent 1 50.7 47.8 2.9 3.84 4.87 -1.03 79 2 49.8 47.0 2.8 3.96 4.81 -0.85 82 3 48.1 45.3 2.9 3.53 4.43 -0.90 80 4 48.8 45.7 3.1 3.16 4.26 -1.10 74 State 49.4 46.4 3.0 3.58 4.57 -0.99 78 * Based on preliminary data --- Kentucky Climate Summary: February 2000 ABOVE NORMAL Temperatures and Precipitation: Very mild temperatures spurred trees and outdoor plants to break dormancy during the second half of February 2000, enough rainfall to lift Kentucky's long-term (PDSI) drought cagetory to the MILD drought levels and the crop moisture index (CMI) to surplus soil moisture. Very little snowfall occurred with the majority of the state reporting an inch or less, except in Southeastern sections where over 3 inches was reported. The first week and a half of February was colder than seasonal normals, but the remainder of the month was very mild with RECORD temperatures in the mid to upper 70's were reported on the 24th thru 26th of the month. Temperatures for the period averaged 43 degrees across the state which was 7 degrees ABOVE NORMAL, 10 degrees warmer than January and 1 degree warmer than February 1999. High temperatures averaged from 54 in the West to 54 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 4 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the West to 10 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 35 degrees in the West to 34 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from 8 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the West to 8 degrees ABOVE NORMAL. This was the 10th warmest February since 1895. Precipitation (liq. equ.) for February 2000 totaled 4.77 inches statewide which was 1.04 inches ABOVE NORMAL. Heavy rainfall occurred statewide on the 17th/18th with Northcentral sections suffering from flooding/flash flooding which was a near repeat of the March 1997 flooding at Falmouth and Cynthiana, KY. Precipitation totals (liq. equ.) by climate division, West 6.05 inches, Central 4.19 inches, Bluegrass 5.32 inches and East 3.87 inches, which was 1.99, 0.05, 1.96 and 0.41 inches respectively ABOVE NORMAL. By station, rainfall totals ranged from a low of 1.34 inches at Berea to a high of 6.62 inches at Louisville. This was the 26th wettest February since 1895. --- Kentucky Climate Summary: January 2000* ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL LIQUID PRECIPITATION: A wild temperature ride and mixed precipitation dominated the first month of the new millennium's (January 2000) weather. The weather for this month provided tornadoes in Owensboro causing loss of life and great personal damage (over 1000 homes damaged) at the beginning of the month, several winter storms which provided the entire state with snowfall and snowcover for over a week and a half, record high temperatures at the beginning of the month and near record low temperatures during the 2nd half of the month. The very cold temperatures during the last 2 weeks of the month were offset by the very mild temperatures the first 17 days of January 2000. The monthly average temperature was ABOVE NORMAL. The offsetting temperatures from the beginning to the end of the month also produced a mixture of preciptition types. Heavy rainfall during the first full week (Jan 2nd - 4th) lifted the entire state out of deep hydrologic drought categories according to the Palmer Drought Severity Index to MILD/MODERATE drought for the first time since late 1998. And multiple winter storms during the last half of the month provided 3 to 8 inches of snow across the state (West to East) with some reports of over 15 inches in the Eastern KY mountains. By the end of the month, the Bluegrass area, however, had returned to the SEVERE hydrologic drought category with the remiander of the state in the MODERATE drought category. Yet, the Crop Moisture Index (CMI) indicated NEAR NORMAL short-term moisture conditions for agricultural purposes. Temperatures for January 2000 averaged 34 degrees across the state which was 2 degrees ABOVE NORMAL, 6 degrees colder than December 1999 and 4 degrees colder than the same time last year (Jan 1999). High temperatures averaged from 44 in the West to 43 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 1 degree ABOVE NORMAL in the West to 4 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 27 degrees in the West to 26 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from 3 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the West to 4 degrees ABOVE NORMAL in the East. Extreme high temperatures were in the low 70's (Jan. 2nd & 3rd) and extreme low temperatures were in the single digits (Jan. 21st & 25th thru 27th). Precipitation (liq. equ.) for the month totaled 3.79 inches statewide which was 0.60 inches ABOVE NORMAL. The Western section of the state received more liquid precipitation in the form of rain and the Eastern section of the state received more solid precipitation in the form of snow. The entire state received at least three freezing rain/sleet events along with snowfall. Precipitation (liq. equ.) totals by climate division, West 5.05 inches, Central 4.08 inches, Bluegrass 3.59 inches and East 2.44 inches, which was +1.86, +0.68, +0.82 and -0.97 inches respectively from normal. By station, precipitation totals ranged from a low of 1.11 inches at Huntington to a high of 6.42 inches at Henderson. To compare the temperatures and rainfall of Jan. 2000, to other January's back to 1895....check this url: http://wwwagwx.ca.uky.edu/ranking_state.htm --- * = Based on preliminary data from 1st-order NWS and Ag. Weather StationsFetched URL: http://weather.uky.edu/public/annual00.txt
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