Winter in Kentucky (Lexington, Louisville, Somerset: home, college, allergies)

[whoabuck]

Hey, Y'all

I'm a hot-house flower, having grown up in California and spent the next 16 years of my life in Texas. I'm in the planning stages of a move to Kentucky, but I really need to know what winter is like up there...

How cold?
How wet?
For how long?
Any snow?
Any sunshine?

Cold and dark cloudy days on end really get me down...

[stxdreamer]

[quote=whoabuck;1706559]Hey, Y'all

I'm a hot-house flower, having grown up in California and spent the next 16 years of my life in Texas. I'm in the planning stages of a move to Kentucky, but I really need to know what winter is like up there...

How cold?

At times, pretty cold. There will be lots of days below freezing, other days in the 40's - 50's.

How wet?

Nothing unusual. The real rains come in early spring most years.

For how long?

April for it to start feeling like spring.

Any snow?

Usually not a lot, but some years have been fairly heavy.

Any sunshine?

Nope. Once the gray skies of winter set in, they don't leave until late March.

Cold and dark cloudy days on end really get me down...

Uh-Uh, you may be in trouble.

[DaninEGF]

There are many climate sites which you can dig into....

The most comprehensive is the Kentucky Climate Center web page...
Kentucky Climate Center


This shows some easy to read graphs and table on temps/pct sunshine/pcpn for three larger cities in Kentucky....
Kentucky Climate

There are lots more general climate summaries out there for the state...


I grew up in western Kentucky and loved weather and now it is my career. I personally loved winter and snow so western Kentucky was not the place to be as usuallly we had snow turn to rain in many instances....though in a few years we would get a 6 to 10 inch snow. The thing to remember is that each winter will bring varied conditions....so really hard to blanket any one statement on a winter and then it be true each winter season. Generally speaking Kentucky lies near the active storm track for the winter season and is a frequent guest of low pressure systems bringing rain and some snow. Heavy snowfalll can occur...most common along the Ohio River and in some mountain areas in the east...but it more often than not a cold rain occurs with temps 35-45. This rain/snow normally lasts anywhere from 12-24 hours from any given storm (maybe longer)....then skies willl clear and sun wil appear the next couple of days behind it along with colder temps. Then the next system will arrive and do it all over again. The frequency of storms and clouds/pcpn strongly varies from season to season. What I call cold weather does not last long at all....have highs below freezing doesnt seem to last too many days in a row....coldest spots in the north central areas such as Louisville-Lexington-Cincinnati. Nightime lows rarely get to zero. Snowfall would vary from say 5-10 inches in the far southwest part of the state to 15-20 inches in the north central.....but big variations can occur.

Considering you are in College Station TX it is colder of course up here....and on average a bit more cloudy days...but overall less pcpn.

Dan NWS met in ND/MN.

[stx12499]

Originally Posted by whoabuck

Hey, Y'all

I'm a hot-house flower, having grown up in California and spent the next 16 years of my life in Texas. I'm in the planning stages of a move to Kentucky, but I really need to know what winter is like up there...

How cold?
How wet?
For how long?
Any snow?
Any sunshine?

Cold and dark cloudy days on end really get me down...

Where in KY? Climate varies a good deal throughout the state from south to north.

[jak88]

I lived in Northern Kentucky, and the weather was amazing simply for the fact that you get all kinds of weather. I love winter, and I like summer. I got both. I also love some inbetween time, which you get in spring and fall.

Winters are definetely not that bad, in fact if you have children they will probably enjoy the winters. Snows often, but melts quickly so you get a few days of snow fun.

[CityKidWithAgDegree]

Originally Posted by stx12499

Where in KY? Climate varies a good deal throughout the state from south to north.

KY has a south to north?? It's not as skinny as say it's neighbor to the south: Tennessee. But by and large there's not nearly as much latitudinal **** as longitudinal. Far as winter weather those weenies consider farty oops I mean forty cold! But then I am five miles from the tundra up here in Minnesota LOL

[whoabuck]

Thanks for all the excellent input.

Snow is a good thing in our book - my son is VERY excited about living somewhere where it snows, but I'm happy not to have TOO much.

I am looking forward to real seasons...instead of gray/rainy/chilly and hotternhell, separated by a couple of weeks, (sometimes days) of genuinely pleasant temperatures. I've had people from Michigan, Nebraska, and upstate New York tell me they've never felt as cold as they do here in the winter because of the pervasive dampness...

[cobolt]

Dampness does make a difference. I found where the snow is drier, it doesn't feel as cold---just harder to keep the skin moisturized. It is harder to breathe in the cold, dry air than in the cold damp, but dry doesn't chill you as much.

[Unique Gal]

Originally Posted by whoabuck

Hey, Y'all

I'm a hot-house flower, having grown up in California and spent the next 16 years of my life in Texas. I'm in the planning stages of a move to Kentucky, but I really need to know what winter is like up there...

How cold?
How wet?
For how long?
Any snow?
Any sunshine?

Cold and dark cloudy days on end really get me down...

woabuck- To me, growing up in Somerset, Ky was great. I loved getting all the 4 seasons. As Im aging, I find the summers are way too humid. With you being from Calif, you may be use to that. The winters can reach down to freezing. when I was younger, I would see it get down to - 15 and 20. The snows which I love aren't as bad as they use to be. The falls are fantastic and my favorite time of year there. The spring time is nice too, except for my allergies. Not alot of rain there. The sunshine was plentiful, especially in the summer. That was always the rainy time and lots of storms. I am presently on the west coast. Ive been here in Victoria for two years and all it does here on the Island is rain and the wind blows. And summers are very cool. Its been great not having mosquitos, black flies, and storms here at least. But Im willing to put up with that to get back home to Ky.

[teebird1012]

What part of Kentucky are you moving to?