From: Tom Priddy, UK Ag. Weather Center(Multiple sources: NWS Paduach, Louisville, Jackson, & UKAWC)

A historic outbreak of cold temperatures have gripped the Ohio Valley through the last few days. Many records have fallen, or were very close to being broken over the last 3 or 4 days...this just following a week in which temperatures topped 80 degrees and 7 weeks of above normal temperatures. It is hard to appreciate the historic nature of cold in April, though it is an event that only happens every 100 to 200 years over a multiple day period like we have experienced. Current forecasts suggest that the cold spell will break over the next few days...with a slightly more springlike week to come, until then here is a recap of the brutal cold of the last few days.

Here are some amazing facts about the historic event across the region:

• Lexington endured the coldest 4 day period (4/5-4/8) in April ever, smashing the record by 1.1 degrees!
• Bowling Green also broke the record for the coldest 4 day period (4/5-4/8) ever in the month of April! 
• Louisville topped out at the 5th coldest 4 day period (4/5-4/8) in April, beaten by colder periods in the years of 1886, 1881, and 1982.
• It was also the coldest 3 day period ever in April (4/6-4/8) at both Lexington and Bowling Green.
• It was the 3rd coldest 3 day period in April (4/6-4/8) at Louisville, beaten again by periods in 1982 and 1886.

Near record cold low temperatures were found at Lexington on the morning of the 8th...which fell one degree short of matching the record low of 21 set in 1936, and at Louisville which was just a few degrees shy of the record 24 set in 1972. The community of Bowling Green smashed its record low of 26 as temperatures dropped to a remarkable 23 degrees on April 8th. Record low maximum temperatures were set Saturday afternoon...April 7th. At Lexington, the high temperature Saturday was 34 degrees...breaking the old record low maximum of 39 set in 1982.At Louisville, the high Saturday was 37 degrees...breaking the old record low maximum of 40 set in 1982.Bowling Green’s high temperatures Saturday was 40 degrees...just above its record low maximum of 39 set in 1916.At Paducah, a new lowest April temperature record was set on Sunday morning, when the mercury dipped to 21 degrees.Near record temperatures chilled the region on the 6th. We also experienced  occasionally heavy snow showers across all of south central Indiana and central Kentucky...especially the Lexington area on Friday afternoon. Eight tenths of an inch of snow fell at Lexington on April 6, breaking the old daily snowfall record for April 6 of two tenths of an inch, set in 1977.(source: NWS, UKAWC)-- Tom Priddy Extension Agricultural Meteorologist Director, Agricultural Weather Center Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 40546-0276 (859) 257-3000 x245