Poplar Bluff saw drier than normal conditions in 2023, as the year tied for its fifth warmest on record.
The Paducah office of the National Weather Service released its annual climate review Wednesday, tracking temperatures, rainfall and severe weather throughout the five-state coverage area.
“Temperatures finished above normal by a whopping 2 to 2.5 degrees. For one month this departure isn’t substantial, but for an entire year it is,” meteorologists shared. “All five of our long-term climate stations observed one of their top seven warmest years on record, with Paducah and Cape Girardeau leading the way with their second warmest.”
Poplar Bluff saw an average high in 2023 of 71.2 degrees, which is 2.5 degrees higher than normal, according to the NWS. The average low was also higher than normal, at 49.8 degrees (1.4 degrees higher than normal).
Cooler than normal temperatures were largely absent in 2023, officials said.
“The most abnormally warm months compared to normal were all during the cooler months: January, February, and December,” the NWS reported. “This was the first year on record where the temperature never fell below 20 degrees in Paducah.”
The coldest day of 2023 for Poplar Bluff was Jan. 31, with a high of 25 degrees and low of 20 degrees.
January and February were both the seventh warmest of those months on record.
The warmest day in 2023 was June 30, with a high of 98 degrees and low of 77 degrees.
Precipitation was highly variable across the region, ranging anywhere from nearly 10 inches drier than normal to 8 inches wetter than normal, the NWS said.
Poplar Bluff fell in the region that saw drier than normal weather, along with Dexter and Van Buren areas.
Poplar Bluff saw 42.16-inches of rain, which was almost 9 inches less than normal.
2023 marked the city’s eighth driest November and 10th driest May.
It was a very active year for severe thunderstorms and flash flooding across the region, the Paducah office reported.
“Our office issued a total of 647 combined warnings (severe thunderstorm, tornado, and flash flood) which was the second most on record for a year (only behind the 709 warnings issued in 2006),” meteorologists said.
Butler County had 20 severe thunderstorm warnings in 2023, with 31 in Stoddard County, 29 in Wayne County, 11 in Carter County and 12 in Ripley County.
Tornado warnings issued were: Butler, Wayne, three each; Stoddard, five; Carter, two; and Ripley, four.
Both Stoddard and Butler counties had seven flash flood warnings each, with two each in Carter and Ripley counties and eight in Wayne County.
Snowfall was below normal across much of the region with most areas only receiving 1 to 6 inches on average, Paducah reported.
“The most notable snow event for the year was Jan. 24-25 when portions of Southeast Missouri and southern Illinois received amounts ranging from 3 to 8 inches,” the NWS said. “Another winter storm impacted the region a week later, with primarily a wintry mix of sleet and ice being observed on Jan. 30-31.”
Poplar Bluff record 4.5 inches of snow during the Jan. 24-25 event, with the highest recorded amounts from that system being 9.4 inches in Ellsinore.
“Due to the heavy wet nature of the snow combining with wind gusts of 15 to 20 mph, significant power outages occurred across the Ozark Foothills of Southeast Missouri,” meteorologists said. “There were over 75,000 customers without power across south central and Southeast Missouri at it’s peak on the morning of Jan. 25. Numerous downed trees also occurred in these areas.”
The next week, Jan. 30-31, saw a sleet and freezing rain event that dumped up to 1.5 inches of sleet accumulations across the area. Poplar Bluff and Dexter were in the heaviest band of accumulation, along with Cape Girardeau.