The mid-ninety degree and rain-free days continue for some sections of Kentucky this week. The Commonwealth saw the tenth driest month on record in June, about two inches shy of normal rainfall. Matt Dixon is an agricultural meteorologist at the University of Kentucky. Dixon said areas in eastern Kentucky have experienced good soaking rains while portions of the west remain very dry.
“Some areas have seen some very very beneficial rains and have actually seen some improvement on the U.S. drought monitor, but there’s other areas like the Purchase Region that just keeps on missing,” said Dixon.
Dixon said the extremely high heat can mean higher levels of evapotranspiration. That’s the term for the movement of moisture from the earth including plants into the atmosphere.
“Even if you’ve got a decent rainfall this past week, it definitely helps but that moisture loss can really be removed from the plant canopy rather quickly,” said Dixon.
While the upcoming fall period is traditionally a dry time in Kentucky, Dixon noted projection models right now show above-normal precipitation in the early part of August.
