Record low temperatures could arrive overnight in many parts of Kentucky. “Tonight it’s going to be most places well below freezing, so it’s not going to be your typical touch of frost that you see this time of year,”
Jackson Weather Service Meteorologist Hal Klingenberg. He says those unseasonably cold temps could stick around a second night in Eastern Kentucky valleys.
Fayette County Horticulture Extension Agent Jamie Dockery says traditional to-the-ground coverings for fragile plants may help, but several hours of below freezing readings will be challenging. “The whole point of covering is to capture the earth’s heat. When I drive by houses and see small flowering trees that look like a lollipop with a sheet tied around the trunk. That does nothing,” said Dockery.
The county extension agent says even a plastic bucket for covering may not be good enough.
Dockery says some potted plants can be brought inside. He says various trees and shrubs will likely suffer damage, but most should recover.
Hal Klingenberg says Lexington’s record low for May ninth is 31, but the bluegrass community did see 26 degrees on May tenth, 1966. The predicted low Saturday morning is somewhere in the upper 20’s.?
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