UK Meteorologist Predicts Milder Second Half of Winter

A University of Kentucky meteorologist predicts the rest of winter will be a milder one for the region. UK Agriculture Weather Center meteorologist Keys Arnold says temperatures should begin rising to above-normal levels later this month and stay that way through the rest of the season.Arnold says it’s the result of changing temperatures in the Pacific Ocean – from El Nino to La Nina. He says it will also continue to bring high precipitation volumes."There are some portions of the state that have already received two to two-and-a-half inches, and the January average is 3.7 inches, and this is in the first week of the month," says Arnold. "So there’s nothing right now to lead me to believe that the trend in rainfall amounts is going to shift."Arnold says that’s good news for farmers – who would start planting season with moist soil."We’d like to start off with adequate soil moisture, because the past two years, when it gets around mid-summer, the rain turns off, so we’d like to have as much as we can at the beginning of the planting season," says Arnold.He says so far this winter, average temperatures in Kentucky have been one to four degrees below normal.