Are the temperatures normally this up and down? (Lexington, Somerset: live, best)

[Deadbolts' Probie]

We have been watching the temperatures in Somerset and Parkers Lake this year. Yes it got really cold this winter! But as spring is coming we notice that its 60 one day and 35 the next then 50 and all the way down to 9! All within 5 days! Is that a normal early spring fluctuation or just this crazy year?

[Crazee Cat Lady]

^Normal in some respects, but the overstatement is a bit crazy....
There is the old saying that if you don't like the weather in Kentucky stick around and it will change! This year is a dramatic overstatement of that fact, but our weather is rather bi-polar even at the best of times. (Compared to normal we have had a very harsh winter though).

[PONYPULR]

Bi-polar!! Great description!!

[kab0906]

Yes, but usually not to this extreme. This has been the oddest winter since 1994.

But once spring comes it's not that unusual for me to wear jeans in the morning and switch to shorts in the afternoon. Jacket on then jacket off.

[Deadbolts' Probie]

Ok I can handle jacket on jacket off. It's parka on parka off that's a bit difficult!

[Deadbolts' Probie]

Cat Lady.... I LOVE your picture. lol lol

[tuckessee]

This is the coldest winter in 20 years, and we're still running below average temperature wise. A lot of the daffodils and saucer magnolias are a week or two behind in blooming here in BG. Spring and fall are roller coasters in this part of the country. Kentucky is as far north as gulf breezes, or the Bermuda High, influence weather, but without a substantial geographic or topographic barrier along our northern border there's nothing to prevent a strong cold front from the great lakes or Canada. For the late spring, summer and early autumn the Bermuda High sets over us and we get you're typical southern weather, just not as long as the deep south. Average highs in winter, at least for my part of Kentucky, typically range from the high 40's to low 50's, and this year there were several days that the high didn't get within 20° of those marks.

[cab591]

Growing up in Lexington, I've seen upper 60's / pushing 70's on Christmas eve, and a bit of snow on the following Christmas day... I've also seen snow in late May / Early June (which immediately melted, as the weather shot back up into the 60's).

Lexington itself has some weird weather patterns, too. Because the city is confined within Fayette county, it's actually fairly dense. In the summer, all the concrete / metal absorbs heat, and creates a "heat bubble" effect over the city. I've seen firsthand as some incredibly dark storm clouds rolled in, split down the middle, went around Lexington, and rejoined on the other side. Everywhere around us got pounded with rain, but there was a bright blue hole in the sky around Lexington. Usually the cooler temperatures during one such storm will wear away the bubble effect, and by the next storm Lexington will get a little rain.

[rosesforthedead]

This is absolutely normal for Kentucky (and the surrounding areas). I grew up in Northern Kentucky and this is nothing new. You'll be ready for spring one day and the next you're pulling out your winter clothes again. This usually happens in both the spring and the fall months. My family still lives there and they said it's been worse this year than in years past.

[kab0906]

And...

it's snowing today.