Drought in Kentucky, October 1 to 7, 2008

Severe drought conditions persisted through early October for parts of western Kentucky. After a dry September, many western Kentucky locations reported less than 50 percent of normal rainfall during the preceding 60 days. Severe drought conditions prevailed south of a line from Murray to Greenville. Much of the rest of western Kentucky was classified as being in a moderate drought. At the start of October, 77 percent of Kentucky hay and pastureland was rated poor or very poor. Wildfires were reported in several counties, though none were especially large. Burn bans were placed in effect for most western Kentucky counties. Most of the corn crop reached maturity prior to the onset of drought. The soybean crop, which matures later in the season, was more adversely affected. Widespread beneficial rain on October 7 amounted to between one and two inches on average. This rain essentially ended severe drought conditions across western Kentucky.