KENTUCKY MONTHLY AND ANNUAL CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR -- 2021 By: Matt Dixon -- UK Agricultural Weather Center * Based on Preliminary Data. Weekly graphs available within the UKAWC Kentucky Weather Information Web site. Sources: UKAWC, NCDC and Midwest Regional Climate Center === Kentucky Climate Summary For the Period June 2021 Above Normal Temperatures and Precipitation: STATION Temp Norm Dep Prcp Norm Dep %Norm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEST(CD1) 75.6 75.2 0.4 3.72 4.49 -0.77 83 CENTRAL(CD2) 74.5 73.5 1.0 4.76 4.79 -0.03 99 BLUEGRASS(CD3) 72.9 72.2 0.7 5.86 4.83 1.03 121 EAST(CD4) 71.7 71.5 0.2 5.04 4.78 0.26 105 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATE 73.5 73.0 0.5 4.83 4.72 0.11 102 === Kentucky Climate Summary For the Period May 2021 Below Normal Temperatures and Precipitation: STATION Temp Norm Dep Prcp Norm Dep %Norm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEST(CD1) 64.4 67.1 -2.7 3.67 5.12 -1.45 72 CENTRAL(CD2) 63.0 65.7 -2.7 4.63 5.27 -0.64 88 BLUEGRASS(CD3) 61.5 64.3 -2.8 3.56 5.18 -1.62 69 EAST(CD4) 61.2 63.9 -2.7 2.79 4.87 -2.08 57 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATE 62.4 65.2 -2.8 3.58 5.09 -1.51 70 === Kentucky Climate Summary For the Period April 2021 Below Normal Temperatures and Precipitation: STATION Temp Norm Dep Prcp Norm Dep %Norm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEST(CD1) 56.5 58.0 -1.5 3.51 5.01 -1.50 70 CENTRAL(CD2) 55.0 56.8 -1.8 3.01 4.91 -1.90 61 BLUEGRASS(CD3) 53.0 55.2 -2.2 3.07 4.63 -1.56 66 EAST(CD4) 53.3 55.6 -2.3 2.49 4.45 -1.96 56 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATE 54.4 56.4 -2.0 2.98 4.73 -1.75 63 === Kentucky Climate Summary For the Period March 2021 Above Normal Temperatures and Precipitation: In a complete flip of the pattern from February, temperatures ran above normal for much of the month of March. In fact, the state average temperature ran above normal for three straight weeks. The state saw several days with highs peaking in the 70s and even some low 80s on the 24th. Precipitation also ran above normal for the month. As of March 28th, the state has averaged close to 5 inches of precipitation. The wet pattern did not really start until midway through the second week of the month. In fact, following a very significant round of rainfall to end February, most of Kentucky went 10 straight days without any rainfall to begin March. The state did see some severe weather, mainly on the 25th, with some isolated instances of large hail, damaging winds, and even a few weak tornadoes. Outside of severe weather, heavy rainfall did lead to multiple bouts of flooding, most notably over the weekend of the 27th and 28th when portions of SE Kentucky saw 2-3+ inches. STATION Temp Norm Dep Prcp Norm Dep %Norm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEST(CD1) 52.5 48.1 4.4 6.87 4.78 2.09 144 CENTRAL(CD2) 51.0 46.9 4.1 7.59 4.88 2.72 156 BLUEGRASS(CD3) 48.6 44.9 3.7 5.36 4.50 0.86 119 EAST(CD4) 49.5 45.8 3.7 7.23 4.59 2.64 157 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATE 50.4 46.4 4.0 6.83 4.68 2.15 146 === Kentucky Climate Summary For the Period February 2021 Well Below Normal Temperatures and Above Normal Precipitation: Dating back to 2016, February’s have been running warmer than normal for the Bluegrass State. Outside of February 2017, precipitation has also ran above normal, but with more in the way of rainfall. That trend was broken in 2021 with the passage of several impactful winter storms through the area and well below normal temperatures. The focus for wintry weather surrounded three storms that hit the Bluegrass State in less than a week. The first came on February 10th and 11th in the form of a major ice storm. Accumulations ranged from a tenth to half inch+ for much of Kentucky. The ice resulted in hazardous driving conditions, tree damage and power outages, especially across Eastern Kentucky. Unfortunately, the next round arrived on the 15th with a wintry mix across the state. Eastern Kentucky was hit with a second major ice storm in less than a week as another quarter to half inch+ fell across the area. At its peak, there was an estimated 150,000 customers without power across this region. Heavy sleet and snow mixed in with the ice farther to the north and west into Central KY (2-5+ inches), eventually transitioning to mostly snow (5-9 inches) across Western Kentucky. The winter weather then closed up with another event on the 17th and 18th, but luckily, snow was the main precipitation type with accumulations of 3 to 5 inches across the southern half of KY, tapering to the north. Very chilly air followed the events with some of the coldest air Kentucky has seen in years. Many locations dipped into the single digits and even below zero at times. For most, data has be traced back to winter 2015 to find the last time temperatures went below zero. STATION Temp Norm Dep Prcp Norm Dep %Norm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEST(CD1) 31.2 39.3 -8.1 3.41 4.02 -0.61 85 CENTRAL(CD2) 32.7 38.7 -6.0 4.83 4.10 0.73 118 BLUEGRASS(CD3) 30.7 36.5 -5.8 4.10 3.45 0.65 119 EAST(CD4) 33.7 38.2 -4.5 5.41 3.86 1.55 140 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATE 32.2 38.2 -6.0 4.51 3.86 0.65 117 === Kentucky Climate Summary For the Period January 2021 Above Normal Temperatures and Precipitation: January has ran mostly dry through the 24th. While the state saw some higher accumulations on New Year’s Day (most between 0.5 and 1.25 inches), all other precipitation events were fairly light in nature. Through the 24th, the state has only averaged 1.14 inches behind three straight weeks of below normal precipitation, which is over 1.5 inches below average over that time span. Precipitation fell as a mix of snow and rain throughout the month with the former again limited to light accumulations. The dry weather led the US Drought Monitor to reintroduce an area of ‘abnormally dry conditions’ to much of South Central Kentucky. While precipitation has ran below normal through the first 24 days of the month, temperatures have been slightly above normal. Outside of some very warm temperatures on New Year’s Day in the middle 60s and low 70s, temperatures have not deviated too far from normal throughout the month. The coldest temperatures ran in the teens for most of the state, while also largely avoiding any major arctic air events. STATION Temp Norm Dep Prcp Norm Dep %Norm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WEST(CD1) 37.0 35.3 1.7 4.57 3.72 0.85 123 CENTRAL(CD2) 36.2 34.9 1.3 4.64 3.89 0.75 119 BLUEGRASS(CD3) 34.2 32.9 1.3 4.06 3.48 0.58 117 EAST(CD4) 35.5 34.4 1.1 3.46 3.82 -0.36 91 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STATE 35.7 34.4 1.3 4.12 3.74 0.38 110 ===