madmax7's Blog

Last Updated: 10:02 PM GMT on July 07, 2012 — Last Comment: 7:31 PM GMT on July 11, 2012

	Record Heat Wave In Lexington Ky July 2012

Posted by: madmax7, 9:58 PM GMT on July 06, 2012

img src="

">I live in Lexington, Ky, and I grew up hearing and reading about the heat wave of 1936 for the area. 1936 was one of those rare, unprecedented years where the heat was simply unbelievable. That was during the Dust Bowl era of course, so it was mainly a dry, southwest-like heat. Anyone else who lives in Lexington or Central Ky will tell you that our summers are usually hot, humid, and have quite a bit of rain mixed in.

Our summers are known for the oppressive, sticky humidity which makes the actual air temperature feel hotter than it actually is. A normal summer for Lexington will see us reaching highs in the upper 80s to mid-90s, usually no higher than that. But extreme heat (over 100 degrees) is rare here. I have lived here my whole life (I am 29) and I can remember in the late 1980s (1987-88) we had VERY bone dry summers and in 1988 of course we had a terrible drought throughout the Mid-west that included Lexington and Central Ky. I distinctly remember that summer of 88 when the ground was so dry it cracked and there was no humidity but a very dry, extreme heat. 1988 broke several records in Lexington for temps from 98-101.

But now we come to 2012. We had an unusually warm, mild winter with little snow or precip and even set a couple of record highs back in March. Perhaps that was a warning of things to come..The current heat wave began in Lexington on June 28 with temperatures reaching 102 degrees. Here are the records we have broken so far in Lexington:

June 30: 103 record high
July 1: 103 record high
July 2: 97 tied record high
July 4: 99 record high, hottest July 4 ever
July 5: 99
July 6: 103
July 7: ?

I keep using the word unprecedented, for it truly is. The heat wave of 2012 dwarfs that of 1988, and is only second to 1936. As I am writing this, we still have one more day to go where we could potentially reach as high as 104-105 degrees. This is a heat wave for the history books for Lexington. These record highs will likely stand for many years to come. The reason being, Kentucky summers usually get enough pop-up storms/rain to keep temperatures in check, and that has not been the case this year. A high pressure ridge has stalled out over the southeast, pouring oppressive heat into our area. We have had a few popup showers/storms, but not enough to impact the drought conditions in central Ky. This heat wave has also been accompanied by high humidity, which makes it feel even hotter.

I am sure many people will remember this heat wave for years to come, and thank goodness for modern air conditioning. I look back on the record highs of 108 set back in 1936 which was even worse than this heat wave and wonder how the people then coped with no ac! 1936 was truly an amazing year for temperature extremes. I wonder if the summer of 2012 is a harbinger of things to come. At any rate, this has already been a summer for the record books and it is only early July. I wonder what Mother Nature has in store for us yet.

Permalink | A A A

: Top of Page :

No reader comments have been posted for this blog entry yet.

	New Comment

Post Your Comments

Create a username. (Required) Not only will you be able to leave comments on this blog, but you'll also have the ability to upload and share your photos in our Wunder Photos section.

About madmax7:

Previous Entries for 2013: