Widespread Showers in the Eastern US; Severe Thunderstorms in the Plains; Heatwave in the Desert Southwest

Widespread showers and thunderstorms across much of the central and eastern U.S. will produce areas of excessive rainfall, especially in the southern Mid-Atlantic states. Scattered severe thunderstorms are expected from Montana into portions of the central/southern Plains this weekend. A heatwave will build in the Desert Southwest, in parts of Arizona, southeastern California, and southern Nevada. Read More >

We had a warm and wet August, though there was very little severe weather. The strongest storms came on the evening of the 15th when a small squall line moved up the Ohio River west of Louisville. French Lick, Indiana recorded a 67 mph wind gust, and in Breckinridge County a barn was damaged and a dryer was lofted into the air and dropped onto a vehicle.

On the evening of the 19th a solitary shower formed right over Louisville and dumped nearly four inches of rain in two hours on the Highlands. And yet, Louisville Bowman received only 0.29" and Louisville International received nothing!

However, just three days earlier several rounds of thunderstorms had dropped torrential rain on SDF, adding up to more than 3". It was Louisville's 5th wettest August day on record.

Though the month ended up on the warm side of normal, no individual day was more than 9 degrees warmer (or cooler) than normal at any of the five main climate sites in central Kentucky.

	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal	Rain	Departure from Normal
Bowling Green	78.9°	+1.4°	4.24"	+0.91"
Frankfort	76.5°	+1.3°	7.24"	+3.88"
Lexington	76.2°	+0.9°	5.21"	+1.96"
Louisville Bowman	79.1°	+1.6°	6.04"	+2.73"
Louisville International	79.5°	+1.1°	7.23"	+3.90"

Records

1st: Record cool high of 76° at Frankfort
11th: Record rainfall of 1.30" at Frankfort
16th: Record rainfall of 3.18" at Louisville (also 5th wettest August day on record)
26th: Record warm low of 73° at Frankfort
27th: Record warm low of 74° at Frankfort, record warm low of 78° at Louisville
28th: record warm low of 74° at Bowling Green, record warm low of 77° at Louisville
29th: Record warm low of 72° at Frankfort, record warm low of 73° at Lexington
31st: Record rainfall of 1.21" at Louisville

5th wettest August on record at Louisville
6th wettest August on record at Frankfort

Storm south of Lexington