Kentucky farmers had fantastic fall weather that allowed them to get in the fields most of last week. Outside of showers across Southeastern Kentucky on Thursday and sprinkles across the Bluegrass on Friday, almost everyone else ran dry for a five-day stretch between Monday and Friday. Temperatures were fairly cool to start the week with lows dipping into the upper 30s to low 40s on Monday morning.  Highs generally stayed in the upper 60s to mid-70s each day through Thursday with mostly sunny skies in place. These mild temperatures continued a trend of warmer than normal temperatures  seen through much of October. Below is a look at the month-to-date departure from normal mean temperatures across the Ohio Valley, photo courtesy of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center. Most of the state is running 5-7 degrees above normal through October 25!

Showers returned over the weekend ahead of a strong cold front on Sunday night, but they were very light in nature. Overall, the state saw a second straight week of below normal rainfall, only averaging 0.16 inches. Any accumulations associated with the front Sunday night fell after the data cutoff for the week and will not be reflected in the data table below. Those accumulations over the past 48 hours from the Kentucky Mesonet are available below. Accumulations at the start of the workweek ranged from a quarter to 1 inch+ across the state.

We remain dry and fairly cool on Wednesday, before rain chances return to the area starting late Wednesday night and stick around for the second half of the workweek as a low-pressure system slowly works through the area. Some drizzle or light showers will even stick around for the first half of the weekend across the eastern half of Kentucky. Below is a look at accumulations over that period from the Weather Prediction Center. Much of Kentucky could get ¾ of an inch or more.

Looking further out, it may be time to put that pot of chili on the stove. Following a warm October, outlooks favor below normal temperatures for the start of November. Normal highs for this time of year run in the upper 50s to mid-60s, while lows typically dip into the upper 30s to low 40s. On a positive note, the outlooks also favor below normal precipitation.

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