National Weather Service: 2018 was year with two seasons

PADUCAH, Ky. — Essentially, 2018 went down as the year with only two seasons: winter and summer, the National Weather Service in Paducah said in its annual climate survey.

Temperatures finished above normal by around 1 degree across the region, according to the review, which compiles weather information from NWS official observation stations in Paducah, Cape Girardeau and Evansville, Indiana. The most abnormally warm months were May, June and September.

On the flip side, the coldest months compared to normal were April and November. The lack of mild temperatures during the spring and fall months was incredible, the weather service said.

In Southeast Missouri, which is based on recordings by the Cape Girardeau station, the average temperature was 57.9 degrees, with an average high of 67.8 degrees and average low 48 degrees, the weather service said. The highest high was 98 degrees, recorded July 5, and lowest high was 15 degrees recorded Jan. 1 and 16. The highest low was 75 degrees, which occurred several days in 2018, and the lowest low was minus-3 degrees Jan. 2.

As for precipitation, it was a wet year across much of the eastern half of the country, and the lower Ohio Valley was no exception, the weather service said, adding many locations ended up finishing with 8 to 12-plus inches of precipitation above normal. Normal annual precipitation is between 45 and 50 inches, and there were numerous locations that picked up more than 60 inches.

The highest observed total was 71.44 inches in Trigg County, Kentucky. Paducah, Evansville and Cape Girardeau all finished in the top-10 wettest years on record.

The total precipitation for the year in Cape Girardeau was 57.56 inches, which was 10.75 inches above the average total for the year, making it the seventh-wettest year on record.

The wettest months compared to normal were February, June and September.

In terms of monthly records in Cape Girardeau, 2018 was record-breaking. February was the second wettest; April became the coldest month, filling the No. 1 spot for the month; May was the second wettest; June was the second wettest and third warmest; September tied for the fourth warmest and ninth wettest; November was the third coldest; and December the ninth warmest.