Megan Smith
Research Assistant
and
Glen Conner
State Climatologist Emeritus for Kentucky
The drought of 1953-1954 was another long period of dry conditions. In the Central and Bluegrass regions, this drought reached moderate conditions in July 1952 and did not get out of the moderate category until January 1955. Therefore, the drought lasted about two years and seven months in this region. In the Eastern region the drought had a shorter duration, lasting about one year and five months, from September 1953 until January 1955. In the fall of 1955, PDSI values descended back into to the moderate range and lasted until February 1956 when an unusual moist spell took over the region. In 1953, the Eastern region was barely in the moderate category while the Western, Bluegrass, and Central regions were in the severe category. In 1954 the Western, Bluegrass, and Central regions were in the extreme category while the Eastern region reached the severe category. Looking at the graphs from these years, you can see that the Eastern region had lower PDSI values.
The duration of the drought in the Western region is more difficult to pinpoint. It began in July 1952 and finally rose out of the moderate PDSI values in May 1955. Between May 1955 and April 1957, the Western region fluctuated in and out of drought conditions from mild to severe. In April 1957, moist conditions took over ending the long dry spell.