Counties in Kentucky with the fastest-rising temperatures in the last 100 years
Counties in Kentucky with the fastest-rising temperatures in the last 100 years
Hitting 116 degrees F in normally temperate Portland, Oregon. 105 degrees in Reno in September, just as summer is meant to be waning. And in California's Death Valley National Park, temperatures hit almost 130 degrees in the aptly named Furnace Creek, marking a world record for the hottest September day in history.
2021 and 2022 saw some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, as across the country extreme heat waves wreaked havoc on communities accustomed to more moderate weather. For many regions, the consequences were grave: in the 2021 Western heatwave, hundreds lost their lives, largely due to a lack of air conditioning, and wildfires ravaged the area.
Map of the past year's temperatures compared to the 100-year average
While not every county in the nation has experienced such extreme heat, climate change has dramatically changed the heat landscape in nearly every state. Coastal regions and the Southern U.S. are particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures, and are also frequently targets of extreme weather events like hurricanes and tornadoes.
Just as all states are not impacted equally by rising temperatures, regions within states have also seen widely different temperature changes over the last decades. Factors such as proximity to urban areas, bodies of water, and mountains can dramatically change the climate of a region. Stacker cited data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Center for Environmental Information to identify the counties in Kentucky with the greatest departure from average temperatures during the period December 2021 to November 2022 compared to the 1901-2000 average. Average temperature over the past year served as a tiebreaker. Additional data on recent average high and low temperatures for each county is also included.
#50. Carlisle County
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 48.2 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.3 F (2.1 F above century average)
#49. Campbell County
- #14 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.7 F (1.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 66.4 F (2.2 F above century average)
#48. Pendleton County
- #15 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.5 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 66.8 F (2.2 F above century average)
#47. Harrison County
- #15 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.3 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.2 F (2.3 F above century average)
#46. Bourbon County
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.2 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.5 F (2.3 F above century average)
#45. Clark County
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.8 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.8 F (2.1 F above century average)
#44. Madison County
- #17 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.9 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68 F (2 F above century average)
#43. Taylor County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.6 F (1.9 F above century average)
#42. Adair County
- #15 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.1 F (2.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.9 F (1.6 F above century average)
#41. Grayson County
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.4 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.8 F (2.4 F above century average)
#40. Ohio County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.2 F (1.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70 F (2.6 F above century average)
#39. McLean County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 47 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.2 F (2.8 F above century average)
#38. Ballard County
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 48 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70 F (2.2 F above century average)
#37. Simpson County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 47.9 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.4 F (1.7 F above century average)
#36. Boyd County
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.5 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.8 F (2 F above century average)
#35. Garrard County
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.2 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.8 F (2 F above century average)
#34. Hardin County
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.5 F (1.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.9 F (2.3 F above century average)
#33. Marion County
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.4 F (2 F above century average)
#32. Larue County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.9 F (1.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.9 F (2.3 F above century average)
#31. Green County
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.2 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.8 F (2.1 F above century average)
#30. Hart County
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.2 F (2.4 F above century average)
#29. Hopkins County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 47.5 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.6 F (2.8 F above century average)
#28. McCracken County
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 48 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.4 F (2.5 F above century average)
#27. Kenton County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.1 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 66 F (2.2 F above century average)
#26. Boyle County
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46 F (2.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.7 F (2.1 F above century average)
#25. Nelson County
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.1 F (1.9 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.7 F (2.3 F above century average)
#24. Muhlenberg County
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 47.4 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.8 F (2.9 F above century average)
#23. Grant County
- #14 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.1 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 66.7 F (2.3 F above century average)
#22. Trimble County
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.3 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.1 F (2.3 F above century average)
#21. Oldham County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.2 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.9 F (2.6 F above century average)
#20. Spencer County
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.7 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.6 F (2.6 F above century average)
#19. Washington County
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.9 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.3 F (2.3 F above century average)
#18. Edmonson County
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.5 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.8 F (2.6 F above century average)
#17. Warren County
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 47.6 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 71.1 F (2.3 F above century average)
#16. Boone County
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.4 F (2.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 65.9 F (2.3 F above century average)
#15. Scott County
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.6 F (2.7 F above century average)
#14. Henry County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.3 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.6 F (2.6 F above century average)
#13. Owen County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.5 F (2.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.3 F (2.5 F above century average)
#12. Carroll County
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.8 F (2.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.2 F (2.2 F above century average)
#11. Shelby County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68 F (2.8 F above century average)
#10. Jefferson County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.4 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.9 F (2.7 F above century average)
#9. Bullitt County
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.5 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69 F (2.6 F above century average)
#8. Butler County
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 47.3 F (1.9 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.9 F (2.8 F above century average)
#7. Gallatin County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.9 F (2.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 66.9 F (2.2 F above century average)
#6. Fayette County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.1 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.8 F (2.7 F above century average)
#5. Franklin County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.7 F (2.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.2 F (2.7 F above century average)
#4. Anderson County
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.7 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.3 F (2.7 F above century average)
#3. Jessamine County
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.9 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68 F (2.7 F above century average)
#2. Mercer County
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46 F (2.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.1 F (2.5 F above century average)
#1. Woodford County
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.8 F (2.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.2 F (2.9 F above century average)