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
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