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I have looked at all the published weather data comparing home (southern WI) to the Louisville area and it appears on paper that by moving to KY we would lose our December - February weather in exchange for two additional, extra hot months of July-like weather. So how does that translate into daily living: e.g. how deep does the frost go into the ground, , when it does melt do you have "mud season", do you salt the roads to the point that all the cars bodies rot out, is long underwear a regular part of the local wardrobe??
I have had it with frozen fingers, thanks in advance for the help!
This is my husband's and my first winter here. We arrived in late July and found the summer was unexpectedly pleasant (I have been told it was unusually mild) and the fall was really fabulous.
I have been told that it has been a cold winter this year but then there are fairly warm days in the mix. This past week we had one day on the 60's and another two in the 50's. We have had nights as cold as 1 degree (with windchil) - but that was unusual. We are going through a cold spell again this week.
The snow is almost nonexistent - it has covered everything (barely) a couple of times but melts off in a couple of days - the streets are cleared early. Most there are little dry flurries that never stick. Ice can be a problem sometimes, especially at night - we watch the weather and don't go out if there is ice, which is rare. We are retired so we can stay home when we need to. It is dreary and cloudy sometimes but often it is sunny and bright and cold - we have had more beautiful days that gray ones.
We were born and lived in So. California our whole lives. We love it here - we have appropriate down jackets, coats and vests, wool fleece lined shoes and hats and gloves but we often just wear a turtleneck and sweater. We go out every day - we shop, go for rides, go to the movies - the weather simply is rarely an issue for us - at least this first winter - perhaps someone born here will have a better perspective.
There is a saying "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it will change". Anyway, it seems that almost every winter is different. Some winters we have had below 0 temps at night with it only getting into the teens through the day for a week or two, and some winters a few days with 20's during the day and teens at night, the rest in the 30's and 40's through the days and 20's at night. Usually we have one or two 2-12 inch snows during the winter, sometimes staying one 1-2 days to 1-2 weeks. Occasionally we will have an ice storm, but that is rare.
Normally January and Febuary is our cold months, with some cold in December and March, but usually December and March has warm spells . Please note the first two sentences. It varies. I have seen snow on the ground Halloween and 18" of flurries on the ground- at least the weatherman said they would be flurries- in April, but that is not the norm.
Mud season seems pretty much year round, as the snow doesn't stay on much more than a week in most cases. As far as frost in the ground, I use a two foot rule of thumb for burying my water lines and they have held in even the coldest winter.
April-June are usually warm with some cool spells- Cool meaning in the 30's-40's, July-Sept, hot, with it beganning to cool down in Oct.
Hope I have answered your questions, and good luck with your move.
Cattknap, a belated welcome. It is nice to know you are enjoying Kentucky.
While I dont live in Kentucky now....I was born and raised in western Kentucky and my parents still live in that part of the state and I have a brother and many family members in Oldham county east of Louisville. Plus I followed Kentucky weather closely growing up and went into that profession and am now a weather forecaster...albeit in a different part of the county (ND/nw MN). I loved the cold and snow growing up and Kentucky was not the place for me as we usually ended up with rain and 35 to 40.
That said....you would be about right in the first part of the description. Louisville and the area from their up to Cincy and down to Frankfort is typically the coldest and snowiest part of the state on average.
Being that...winters on average are pretty mild by Wisconsin standards. You looked up the stats so you know that. But most winters will have a period starting in early to mid January through mid February (about one month long) where snow and ice are common and low temps down into the single digits and teens above can occur pretty regularly...high temps can be in the 20s one day but in the 40s some days depending on how storm systems track through the ohio valley. Most Kentucky snow/ice events come from Lows that track from Texas or Louisiana east or northeast through MS/AL/TN then off the mid atlantic coast and this far enough storm track usually is more favored during January-early Feb period when the cold air is at is farthest south point. Most of December and again from late Feb onward the jet stream is often farther north with the storm track from Okla up through the great lakes bringing Kentucky maybe snow at the start but then rain and a warm up. Of course there have been many times when weather patterns are very unusual and the above doesnt play out...but I knew growing up that Christmas was rarely if ever white and it usually was wet and 40 degrees. After the first of the year we can expect our first good snowfall and by mid Feb the chance for any real snow is about gone.
As for frost depth, etc...I dont think in most winters it is cold enough to get beyond maybe an inch or two at most as long periods of below 32F is not too common. So frost coming out of the ground and mud season as we have it up north (at least in nrn MN/ND) is not experienced in Kentucky. Sure it can be muddy after a wet period but not due to frost coming out of the ground.
Long johns...dont think you will need them unless you will work outside a whole lot. Living where I am now...the idea of 30 degrees being cold is very hard to fathom it would be time for shorts!
And yes....the heat and humidity....Louisville and that area not quite as bad as western Kentucky but bad enough for my blood. From mid May through mid Sept warm and humid prevails....with the 3 H weather very common day to day in July and August (hazy hot and humid). Louisville area is in a stormy part of the state during the spring for severe weather but they are prepared for it. I was there (as a kid) for the 1974 tornado outbreak.
If you have kids....you will come to see that school is cancelled a whole lot for very trivial amounts of snow... something I enjoyed growing up.
In jefferson County it will take an act of God to get a day off lol It does happen, but it takes alot of snow to get it. If anything we'll get a delay.
In jefferson County it will take an act of God to get a day off lol It does happen, but it takes alot of snow to get it. If anything we'll get a delay.
maybe a lot of snow for kentucky standards, but i remember having to go to school when i lived in Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York when it snowed 12" or more overnight, so compared to up north, Louisville calls off school for very little amounts of snow. id say if it snows more then 3"-4" overnight JCPS will call off school most of the time, unless they think it will melt during the day, so it all depends, they are not very consistent in the way they call off school.
Getting back to the winters, coming from Wisconsin, winters here are very mild. We don't have to deal with a mud season, as the ground never freezes for more then a few days, and I threw away my long johns when I moved back from Buffalo, and I have never needed them since. I think you will be happy with the weather here, except in the summer when it will become hotter and more humid then you are used to. Louisville and most of the rest of Kentucky, except for the area around Cincinnati are in a Humid Sub-Tropical climate, and Wisconsin is in a Humid-Continental climate. Humid Sub-Tropical climates generally have mild winters, and hot, humid summers, but because Louisville is on the northern limit of the HST climate, we do experience harsher winters then places like Birmingham, Memphis, or even Nashville to an extent.
maybe a lot of snow for kentucky standards, but i remember having to go to school when i lived in Cleveland, Ohio and Buffalo, New York when it snowed 12" or more overnight, so compared to up north, Louisville calls off school for very little amounts of snow. id say if it snows more then 3"-4" overnight JCPS will call off school most of the time, unless they think it will melt during the day, so it all depends, they are not very consistent in the way they call off school.
Getting back to the winters, coming from Wisconsin, winters here are very mild. We don't have to deal with a mud season, as the ground never freezes for more then a few days, and I threw away my long johns when I moved back from Buffalo, and I have never needed them since. I think you will be happy with the weather here, except in the summer when it will become hotter and more humid then you are used to. Louisville and most of the rest of Kentucky, except for the area around Cincinnati are in a Humid Sub-Tropical climate, and Wisconsin is in a Humid-Continental climate. Humid Sub-Tropical climates generally have mild winters, and hot, humid summers, but because Louisville is on the northern limit of the HST climate, we do experience harsher winters then places like Birmingham, Memphis, or even Nashville to an extent.
That is true, more than a few inches and school is called out.
Thanks for all the help, the Louisville area weather sounds perfect for my family (Wife is a Sicilian immigrant, two of my kids long for 80 degree days, the third child loves snow and I do work outside; I'll keep the long johns)
We we down there late December and the grass was green and some flowers still blooming. Am I right in assuming now that its "dead" of winter that will stop?
I have looked at all the published weather data comparing home (southern WI) to the Louisville area and it appears on paper that by moving to KY we would lose our December - February weather in exchange for two additional, extra hot months of July-like weather. So how does that translate into daily living: e.g. how deep does the frost go into the ground, , when it does melt do you have "mud season", do you salt the roads to the point that all the cars bodies rot out, is long underwear a regular part of the local wardrobe??
I have had it with frozen fingers, thanks in advance for the help!
We moved here last year from MN, so I guess that qualifies me to answer this question.
If you are looking for a place that still has four seasons...but you don't want the fourth one to be 6 months long (like it was in MN)...Then you will find the weather here to be just about perfect. "Winters" (if that's what you want to call them) are about 4 weeks shorter on either end than what you are probably used to and what goes on in between really isn't that bad (compared to what folks like us know about winter).
People around here have been complaining about how cold this winter has been and I just kind of look at them and smile. I think the coldest it has been were a couple of mornings in the single digits and we've had maybe two "dustings" of snow (just enough to make the yard look white). A fairly typical mid-winter day would be partly cloudy, a bit of a breeze, overnight temps in the mid-20's and daytime temps in the mid to high 30's. Occasionally it will get a bit warmer/colder for a couple of days.
Frost ?...there is none. Maybe the top inch or two of the ground will freeze for a day or two but that's about it. As evidenced by a trip out to my garden last week I'm guessing spring can be a bit muddy but nothing a feller can't handle. As for the roads/salt/cars...They get a little worked up around here about any kind of measurable precip. For example we are under a storm watch tonight and may get 3 or 4 inches of snow and people have been worked up about this for days. I'm guessing they don't have all the road equipment to handle a really major storm. I can't say that I've noticed any "rust buckets" running around the road...if anything there are less of them since the roads are dry 99% of the time.
Hope this helps. Come on down, it's a great place to live.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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This is what KY winters make me feel like
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