April 2016 Summary

Similar to March, April was a slow month for severe weather. As a matter of fact, severe storms struck southern Indiana or central Kentucky on only three days during the month, and two of those days were consecutive: the 26th and 27th. On the 26th thunderstorms developed along and ahead of a cold front dropping down from the north. Trees and a few power lines were blown down. Winds to 60mph were observed on the northeast side of the Louisville metro. On the 27th scattered storms developed out ahead of a disturbance coming up from the mid-Mississippi Valley. Again, most of the damage was trees and a few power lines blown down, though there was also a report of golf ball sized hail near Liberty, KY.

A persistent upper trough over the eastern U.S. kept us chilly for the first week and a half of the month. The chilly weather peaked on the 8th with morning lows in the 20s and daily departures below normal around 15 degrees. There were even a few flurries in the Blue Grass as low pressure traveled from the western Great Lakes to the upper Ohio Valley. Temperatures then rebounded, with highs in the 80s every day from the 17th to the 20th.

	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal	Precipitation	Departure from Normal	Snowfall	Departure from Normal
Bowling Green	60.0°	+2.3°	1.53"	-2.81"	0	-0.2"
Frankfort	57.0°	+1.8°	3.07"	-0.62"
Lexington	56.9°	+1.6°	3.31"	-0.29"	T	-0.3"
Louisville Bowman	58.3°	+1.2°	3.13"	-0.95"
Louisville International	59.8°	+1.8°	3.18"	-0.83"	0	-0.1"

Records

Louisville tied the record high of 86° on the 19th.

8th driest April on record at Bowling Green

Fascinating frost on the morning of the 12th. Photo: Kevin Hall