The Fastest Two Week Weather Change in Sports

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It's Derby Week! That probably doesn't mean anything to anyone who (a) doesn't live in or near Louisville; (b) isn't interested in the Kentucky Derby; or (c) doesn't follow horse racing. But here in the Derby City it's two weeks of parties, beginning with the "Thunder Over Louisville" fireworks show and ending, of course, with the featured race on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs. Other than jacked-up gasoline prices (it's $2.29 now, it'll be $2.79 by Derby Day...thank you for visiting ), closed streets because of the parade, explosion of celebrities, and/or the increased traffic around town, it's generally only a major nuisance to the people who live near the track (if you've never been, Churchill Downs is located in a residential neighborhood!). I do like to get out of town on occasion, but generally it's another day to me. There is, however, one thing that is as certain as the funny smell in the horse barns, and that's the weather. It is a true rarity when we have good weather for most (or all) of the Derby Festival events and the Derby. The year I bought my house (1989) we had a record high temperature in April...and sleet and 42 degrees on Derby Day. This year is no exception. We've had record warmth this spring; and, in fact, we didn't have much of a winter at all. It's been a generally beautiful spring. However, there's a steadfast rule about this part of the country: "don't plant until after Derby Day." Why? As I said, it has snowed on Derby Day. We've also had tornado warnings on Derby Day. After all the warmth, it appears that this week is going to be "unseasonably cool" with showers. There's a high chance of rain on parade day, and temperatures for the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby are currently forecast to struggle to 60. And, of course, next week, after all the hoopla has died down, the temperatures will be back in the mid-70s with sunny skies. They call the Kentucky Derby "the fastest two minutes in sports." With the way our weather has fluctuated over the course of the Kentucky Derby Festival, you can call it the fastest two-week weather change in sports as well! Dan Fogelberg's classic song about the Kentucky Derby (for the record, horse farms are in central Kentucky, not western Kentucky):