After experiencing one of the driest months of June on record, the tables have turned and now July ranks as one of the wettest July's on record for much of east Kentucky.
Here's a look at a comparison between the monthly precipitation recorded at several manual and automated observing stations in east Kentucky for the month of June vs. the first 28 days of July.
Let's take a closer look at the numbers for a few climate stations in east Kentucky...
Mount Sterling 5N
West Liberty 3NW
* July amounts and rankings in the table above represent the first 28 days of the month only.
Most of the rest of the state has experienced a similar change to wetter conditions. Lexington has gone from experiencing their 6th driest June on record to observing the 7th wettest first 28 days of July. Further west, however, the switch to wet has not been as pronounced and far west Kentucky continues to bake under drought conditions.
Finally, let's take a look at a comparison of the drought conditions across the state from July 3rd vs. July 24th. As you can see from the Drought Monitor maps below, the eastern half of the state has seen a drastic improvement in the drought, while much of western Kentucky has continued to experience worsening drought conditions.