Monthly Climate Summary
January 2010

A winter to remember continued for eastern Kentucky in January 2010. Over 17 inches of snow fell on Jackson for the 2nd consecutive month, making this the 2nd snowiest December-January period on record. Eastern Kentucky also experienced average temperatures that were 3-5 degrees below normal and ranked among the top ten coldest for January. The rest of the state was also much colder than normal with temperatures averaging around 3 degrees below normal. What was notable was the see-saw pattern of temperature extremes that occurred during the month. The first two weeks of January featured persistent arctic air that pushed daily temperatures as far as 20 degrees below normal. The coldest days occurred from the 8th-10th as temperatures approached zero at night and only rose into the teens during the day.

Light snow fell across the state on several occasions as arctic cold fronts brought repeated bouts of very cold air. Many places had stretches of sub-32°F weather than persisted for as many as ten consecutive days, which approached or tied the all-time record for such a sub-freezing streak. The next two weeks of the month were very warm and wet with temperatures soaring more than 20 degrees above normal for a couple of days. Moderate to heavy rainfall occurred on the 16-17th, 20-21st, and 24th. The month ended with a return to arctic air and moderate snowfall for much of the state on the 29-30th. Western and central Kentucky received a widespread 4-6 inches of snow from the storm while eastern Kentucky received as much as a foot. The entire state had snowfall that was above average. Bowling Green received over 8 inches of snow, which was the most during January since 1985. Despite the above average snowfall, precipitation was slightly below normal for much of the state with the exception of eastern Kentucky.