Feast or Famine for Rainfall in Kentucky

Last year was Kentucky’s wettest on record going back to 1895, bringing widespread flooding to some areas last spring. 

But state climatologist Stuart Foster says those same parts of the state are currently in drought.  Unusually warm, dry weather means April-May precipitation totals are very different from last year's. Foster says climate monitoring stations in the Kentucky Mesonet show totals of 16 to 24 inches for those two months in 2011 in eight western Kentucky counties, while this year the figures range from an inch and a half to less than 6 inches in those same counties.  The state Climate Center says a dry start to the year doesn't always mean intense summer drought, but Foster says people involved in weather-sensitive work should be aware it's possible.