Natural disasters have been no stranger to Kentucky in recent years and unfortunately, another was added to the list this past week. A large section of Eastern Kentucky saw anywhere from 5 to 10+ inches of rain, which led to tremendous loss in some communities. Throughout the week, the state saw near daily rounds of showers and storms as a frontal boundary stalled across the region. Storms were capable of producing torrential rainfall and repetitive rounds led to excessive flooding. The worst of the flooding occurred Wednesday night/Thursday morning for those Eastern Kentucky communities, where a large portion of the above totals fell within a few hours. Looking at the state as a whole, Kentucky averaged 3.21 inches for the week. Many saw more than two inches. The one exception was across the Purchase region of Western Kentucky, where totals were in the 0.5 to 1.5 inch range.
Temperatures for the period averaged 76 degrees across the state which was near normal and 4 degrees cooler than the previous period. High temperatures averaged from 85 in the West to 82 in the East. Departure from normal high temperatures ranged from 4 degrees cooler than normal in the West to 5 degrees cooler than normal in the East. Low temperatures averaged from 72 degrees in the West to 70 degrees in the East. Departure from normal low temperature ranged from 5 degrees warmer than normal in the West to 6 degrees warmer than normal in the East. The extreme high temperature for the period was 95 degrees at FORT CAMPBELL and the extreme low was 56 degrees at CARLISLE 5SW.
Precipitation (liq. equ.) for the period totaled 3.21 inches statewide which was 2.23 inches above normal and 328% of normal. Precipitation totals by climate division, West 2.37 inches, Central 3.38 inches, Bluegrass 2.66 inches and East 4.42 inches, which was 1.43, 2.4, 1.69 and 3.4 inches above normal. By station, precipitation totals ranged from a low of 0.48 inches at MAYFIELD 6SW to a high of 10.36 inches at JACKSON 3SE.
Categories: Kentucky, Weather