In the United States east of the Mississippi River, the old historical designations of regions considered Kentucky one of the Border States. The state fits into a similar category when its weather and climate are compared with those other states east of the Big River, not quite a northern state and not quite a southern state but a mix of the two regions. In Kentucky Weather, meteorologist Jerry D. Hill looks in depth at the weather and climate influences on the Commonwealth, from its earliest characterization as "Paradise" (remember the old country song Kentucky Means Paradise?) to recent storms that have affected its residents.
Hill clearly details the weather's effects on the Kentucky's history and development, including those past weather events that have become part of Kentucky's history: the great rainstorm that saved pioneers from an Indian attack on Fort Boonesboro in 1778; the great flood of 1937; the devastating twenty-seven tornado outbreak of 3 April 1974; and the crippling ice storm across central Kentucky in 2003.
Hill also explains the forces that create Kentucky's weather, giving insights into what conditions affect temperature, precipitation, storms, and drought across the Commonwealth. The book has many good illustrations of noteworthy Kentucky weather events and charts and graphs to detail the variations in Kentucky climate, though I would have like to see a more detailed topographical map. A good appendix of data sources completes the volume detailing record high and low temperatures and precipitation amounts throughout the state, statistics on tornadoes, snowfall, and thunderstorms, and mean monthly conditions.
Kentucky Weather is a good solid reporting of Kentucky weather and climate with some interesting accounts mixed in with the climate summaries. A copy is a must for all those interested specifically in Kentucky or Ohio Valley weather and climate conditions and makes a good addition to the growing library of American state climatologies published in the last decade.
Weather Doctor's Book Review: Kentucky Weather ©2005, Keith C. Heidorn. All Rights Reserved.
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