[jason2679302 (OP)]

So this is just one wierd winter and spring combo...this week in Kentucky, USA...it has been freezing at night and getting quite warm during the day...like a huge difference...about 30 degrees almost..very strange :/

[daveshorts]

Has the weather been very clear, so you are getting a lot of heat coming in during the day and then loosing it very quickly at night?

[Monox D. I-Fly]

Has the weather been very clear, so you are getting a lot of heat coming in during the day and then loosing it very quickly at night?

Wait, did you imply that the clearer the day, the colder the night? But here in my place if the day was very clear, the night would also be very hot.

[alancalverd]

 Clear sky = rapid heating or cooling by radiation. Large areas of water retain heat better than rock and it is also possible that evaporation during the day does not condense into clouds, which form as the air temperature drops, and prevent further radiative loss at night.

[Petrochemicals]

Clear sky = rapid heating or cooling by radiation. Large areas of water retain heat better than rock and it is also possible that evaporation during the day does not condense into clouds, which form as the air temperature drops, and prevent further radiative loss at night.

That does not happen in summer alan. Clear balmy nights

[Colin2B]

Clear sky = rapid heating or cooling by radiation. Large areas of water retain heat better than rock and it is also possible that evaporation during the day does not condense into clouds, which form as the air temperature drops, and prevent further radiative loss at night.

That does not happen in summer alan. Clear balmy nights

What @alancalverd describes is typical of summer high pressure areas in uk. There is a larger diurnal temperature variation during these periods due to night time radiation loss and the fact that a high pressure area is a mass of falling cooler air, you can even end up with local pockets of ground frost. This can change if you get a combination of sufficient ground heating and very light winds which can trap warm air close to the surface.