National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce
MLK Jr Day Climate History for Paducah, KY
 

*Climate Data has been recorded at Barkley Regional Airport in West Paducah since 1949 and prior to that was observed in downtown Paducah back to December of 1937.

In 1983, legislation was signed creating a federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The holiday was first observed in 1986. King's Birthday is technically on January 15th but the federal holiday is celebrated on the third Monday of January. For climate purposes, the third Monday in January for the entire period of record will be used. This means the holiday can occur from January 15th through January 21st for any given year.

Here is a look at high and low temperature frequencies and extremes as well as precipitation statistics for MLK Jr. Day in Paducah.

As seen by this graphic high temperatures are predominately in the 30s or 40s on MLK Jr Day, encompassing 61% of all years on record.

Warmest Highs Coldest Highs
65 in 1990 12 in 2024
64 in 2017 14 in 1977
63 in 2012 18 in 1985
62 in 1938 21 in 1970
61 in 2015 22 in 2016
61 in 2007 25 in 2004
  25 in 1956
Normal High: 43

 

Paducah has seen highs as warm as the 60s 9 times, most recently in 2023, when we topped out at 60 degrees. There have also been 3 years where the high temperature failed to reach 20 degrees. This occurred back in 2024, 1985, and 1977.

Low temperatures typically fall in the 20s or 30s, accounting for 65% of all years on record. There are always exceptions to the norm of course: in 1977 the low temperature plummeted to 11 degrees below zero, which is 1 of 3 years with lows below zero. The only year with lows above 50 occurred back in 1990 when a mild reading of 52 degrees was set.

Warmest Lows Coldest Lows
52 in 1990 -11 in 1977
49 in 2023 -10 in 1985
48 in 1957 -3 in 1994
45 in 2012 2 in 1979
44 in 1938 4 in 2024
Normal Low: 26

 

Measurable precipitation has fallen 33% of the time, with over an inch of precipitation falling on 2 different occasions, most recently in 2007. Measurable snowfall has only occurred on 7 occasions (8% of all years on record), with the most recent occurring in 2024. There have been 12 years (15% of all years on record) with a snow depth of 1 inch or greater. This last happened on MLK Jr Day in 2024 when there was a snow depth of 1 inch in the morning.

Wettest (inches) Snowiest (inches) Most Snow Depth
1.89 in 1958 11.0 in 1978 8.0 in 1968
1.06 in 2007 8.1 in 2018 7.0 in 1994
0.91 in 1949 5.4 in 1994 6.0 in 1978
0.90 in 1978 0.4 in 1987 4.0 in 1985
0.68 in 1946 0.3 in 2024* 3.0 in 1982

*Denotes a tie in previous year(s)

Here is a look at the observed weather for the past 15 years:

Recent MLK Jr. Day Weather
Year High Low Precip Snowfall Snow Depth
2010 56 26 0 0 0
2011 46 22 0.16 0 0
2012 63 45 T 0 0
2013 35 23 0 0 0
2014 57 32 0 0 0
2015 61 27 0 0 0
2016 22 9 0 0 0
2017 64 43 0.54 0 0
2018 31 14 0.33 8.1 2
2019 28 19 T T 1
2020 26 18 T T 0
2021 50 28 T T 0
2022 46 26 0.01 0.1 0
2023 60 49 0.2 0 0
2024 12 4 0.02 0.3 1