Kentucky has seen a stark contrast in weather patterns over the past two years. State climatologist Stuart Foster says 2013 will go down as a year with mild temperatures and above-average rainfall.
“Last year, we had a very significant drought particularly in the western part of the state and some very high temperatures,” said Foster. “But this summer, we never came close to 100 degrees the entire summer and instead of drought, we dealt with an excess of precipitation.”
On average, the state was one degree below normal, temperature-wise for the year, while rainfall totals were seven inches above normal. Foster says the models don’t show much change in the outlook for 2014.
“There are really kind of equal chances based on climatology looking ahead as to whether it’s going to be warm or cold, wet or dry. We just don’t have a strong signal right now,” said Foster.
Although March through May is typically regarded as “severe weather season” in Kentucky, the state saw incidents of tornados in both January and November of this year.