Western Kentucky Winter Outlook...Not So Fast on the Parkas

I recently had five days off and spent one of them just doing laundry. You've heard of "spring cleaning." Well, this was "fall laundry."

I moved last year and still had a few bags of clothes I hadn't emptied. I mean I washed EVERYTHING that wasn't nailed down--most of it winter clothes.

But now I'm wondering how much of those winter clothes I'm actually going to need when winter rolls around because there IS a difference between fall and winter apparel.

I wonder because I've checked out the just-released winter forecast from NOAA--the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's a branch of the National Weather Service, and it has revealed what the entire country can anticipate this winter according to their models. And it doesn't like ANYONE who sells or manufactures heavy winter apparel will be doing much business in a few months.

NOAA is forecasting above-normal temperatures for what looks like about two-thirds of the country, including Owensboro and western Kentucky. This graphic from climate.gov indicates a 40-50 percent chance of higher than average temperatures this winter, with the only part of the country expecting COLDER-than-normal weather right about where you'd expect it.

climate.gov

I have friends who hate the summer and love the winter SO much, I wouldn't be surprised if they moved.

On its Facebook page, the National Weather Service office in Paducah has posted another graphic that shows how much precipitation they're expecting for us. And again, it seems like there's a 40-50 percent chance of above-normal precip. I'm guessing they mean rain, but precip can also mean snow.

Last February, when we got all that snow, it was actually kind of refreshing while still being a colossal pain in the butt. For one thing, we have a sloped driveway. But it had been so long since we'd had that kind of snow, it was nice to see...up to a point.

With this new information from the NWS and NOAA, I'm wondering how "refreshing" this coming winter will be.

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