A rough stretch of wintry weather besieged the region in February, followed by extensive flooding in March. A very rare snowfall blanketed central Kentucky and southern Indiana in mid-April, and then summer brought several rounds of heavy rains. The year ended with a historic tornado outbreak and our warmest Christmas on record.
January 25: A slow-moving warm front brought record rain to central Kentucky. Over three inches fell on Liberty.
February 9-10: Freezing rain produced a thick glaze which lasted through the 12th. Up to 5 inches of snow fell in the Scottsburg and Madison areas of southern Indiana.
February 14-16: Half a foot of snow fell on southern Indiana with 3-5" in north central Kentucky.
February 16-17: A band of heavy snow produced 6" of accumulation in the southern Blue Grass. Bowling Green had a daily record snowfall of 2.9" on the 17th.
February 20: Arctic air on top of fresh snow took temperatures down into the single digits, with a few locations slipping just below zero. Brandenburg bottomed out at -3.
February 27-28: Record rains throughout central Kentucky, including an all-time 1-day record for February of 5.11" at Bowling Green on the 28th. Several spots on the Kentucky, Ohio, Green, and Rolling Fork rivers had moderate to major flood levels in early March. A marina broke loose and floated down the Kentucky River, crashing into bridges in Frankfort. A narrow EF1 twister was on the ground for a few minutes in northeast Clinton County on the evening of the 28th.
March 25: Early in the evening a lone storm moved from Nashville almost all the way to Cincinnati, dropping hail along its path through central Kentucky. Three small tornadoes touched down from Ohio County through Grayson County to LaRue County.
March 27-28: Two to four inches of rain fell from Tompkinsville to Albany on the northern fringe of catastrophic flooding in the Tennessee Valley.
April 20-21: A narrow band of heavy snow swept across southern Indiana and central Kentucky, dropping a couple inches of snow in just a few hours. It was the biggest snowfall for so late in the season in Louisville.
April 28: Winds gusted to 43 mph and 1.79" of rain fell in an hour, including about half an inch in four minutes, at Bowman Field in Louisville.
May 3: Just after eight o'clock in the morning a small tornado, only about 180 feet wide, was on the ground for half a mile in Tompkinsville.
May 29: An unusually cool air mass settled in the area, giving us record chilly highs in the lower and middle 50s.
June 18-19: The Madison, Indiana area reported 3 to 7 inches of rain. Severe flash flooding up to 5 feet deep led to the evacuation of 35 residents. Sixty buildings were damaged. After the water receded, 80 tons of debris was removed.
July 30: Torrential rains in Nicholas County washed a mobile home from its foundation. The 66-year-old resident was later found deceased about 600 feet away. Some homes in Carlisle had up to four feet of water in them as Brushy Fork Creek left its banks.
August 30-31: Heavy rains well ahead of the remnants of Hurricane Ida flooded the gymnasium at Northeast Dubois Intermediate School on the 30th. Record rains were reported at Bowling Green and Frankfort the next day.
September 15: Moisture streaming in from tropical cyclone Nicholas interacted with a cold front approaching from the northwest to produce half a foot of rain and significant flooding in Bardstown.
October 15: Two EF-0 tornadoes in southern Indiana did minor tree and roof damage.
December 6: Two EF-1 tornadoes northeast of Frankfort resulted in two injuries as a mobile home park in Stamping Ground was damaged.
December 10-11: Historic tornado outbreak, including EF-3 tornadoes in Bowling Green and Taylor County. Seventeen people in Bowling Green and one in Taylor County lost their lives.
December 25: Warmest Christmas afternoon ever recorded in central Kentucky. Bowling Green and Louisville saw readings in the mid 70s.
December 28: Record warmth was seen in a few spots on the 27th, and spread throughout central Kentucky on the 28th. Bowling Green hit 72°.
| Bowling Green | Frankfort | Lexington | Louisville Ali | Louisville Bowman | |
| Highest Temperature | 97° August 11 and August 12 | 95° June 29 | 92° June 29 and July 26 | 97° June 29 and August 23 | 96° June 29 and August 26 |
| Lowest Temperature | 8° February 16 | 1° February 16 and February 20 | 2° February 17 | 10° February 16 and February 17 | 7° February 16 and February 17 |
| Daily Average Temperature Most Above Normal | +28° December 25 | +27° December 25 | +24° December 25 and December 27 | +27° December 27 | +27° December 27 |
| Daily Average Temperature Most Below Normal | -28° February 16 | -25° February 16 | -25° February 16 | -25° February 16 | -26° February 16 |
| Wettest Day | 5.11" February 28 | 3.97" August 19 | 2.46" July 1 | 3.54" February 28 | 3.47" February 28 |
| Snowiest Day | 2.9" February 17 | 3.5" January 27 | 4.9" February 15 | ||
| Deepest Snow Cover | 5" February 18-19 | 3" January 28 and February 17-20 | 5" February 18-19 |
Kentucky Derby weather, May 1: Sunny, no precipitation, high 76°, low 44°, fast track
(All data here are considered preliminary. For official final data, contact the National Centers for Environmental Information.)
| Bowling Green | ||||||
| Average Temperature | Departure from Normal | Precipitation | Departure from Normal | Snow | Departure from Normal | |
| January | 38.7° | +3.0° | 4.02" | +0.41" | 1.1" | -2.2" |
| February | 34.9° | -4.9° | 8.01" | +4.05" | 7.7" | +4.7" |
| Winter | 37.7° | -0.3° | 15.05" | +2.68" | 8.8" | +1.0" |
| March | 52.8° | +4.4° | 5.45" | +1.04" | 0 | -1.1" |
| April | 56.9° | -0.8° | 2.72" | -1.62" | 0.2 | +0.1" |
| May | 64.6° | -3.4° | 4.80" | -0.23" | 0 | |
| Spring | 58.1° | -0.6° | 12.97" | -1.41" | 0.2" | |
| June | 77.1° | +1.0° | 2.78" | -1.73" | 0 | |
| July | 79.1v | -0.6° | 4.99" | +0.71" | 0 | |
| August | 80.0° | +1.5° | 5.40" | +1.51" | 0 | |
| Summer | 78.7° | +0.6° | 13.17" | +0.49" | 0 | |
| September | 70.4° | -1.0° | 5.99" | +2.35" | 0 | |
| October | 64.5° | +4.5° | 3.94" | +0.31" | 0 | |
| November | 45.7° | -2.7° | 2.43" | -1.30" | 0 | |
| Autumn | 60.2° | +0.3° | 12.36" | +1.36" | 0 | |
| December | 50.8° | +10.3° | 3.65" | -0.70" | 0 | |
| ANNUAL | 59.6° | +0.4° | 54.18" | +4.06" | 9.0" | |
9th warmest year on record
| Frankfort | ||||
| Average Temperature | Departure from Normal | Precipitation | Departure from Normal | |
| January | 35.3° | +2.8° | 4.09" | +0.83" |
| February | 31.7° | -4.7° | 4.42" | +1.13" |
| Winter | 34.6° | -0.1° | 10.70" | +0.14" |
| March | 49.4° | +4.5° | 4.28" | -0.10" |
| April | 54.4° | -0.8° | 3.29" | -0.40" |
| May | 62.8° | -2.7° | 2.88" | -2.22 |
| Spring | 55.5° | -0.6° | 10.45" | -3.92" |
| June | 74.7° | +1.0° | 5.42" | +1.08" |
| July | 76.2° | -1.0° | 5.88" | +1.19" |
| August | 77.6° | +1.5° | 8.92" | +5.77" |
| Summer | 76.2° | +0.5° | 20.22" | +8.04" |
| September | 70.1° | +0.9° | 4.37" | +1.02" |
| October | 62.3° | +4.7° | 4.78" | +1.14" |
| November | 43.7° | -2.4° | 2.05" | -1.31" |
| Autumn | 58.7° | +1.1° | 11.20" | +0.85" |
| December | 47.4° | +9.3° | 4.51" | +0.74" |
| ANNUAL | 57.1° | +0.5° | 54.89" | +7.55" |
9th wettest year on record
| Lexington | ||||||
| Average Temperature | Departure from Normal | Precipitation | Departure from Normal | Snow | Departure from Normal | |
| January | 33.8° | +0.9° | 4.78" | +1.58" | 6.3" | +2.4" |
| February | 30.7° | -6.2° | 4.61" | +1.41" | 8.6" | +4.0" |
| Winter | 33.3° | -1.9° | 11.94" | +1.61" | 18.5" | +7.5" |
| March | 48.5° | +3.0° | 4.73" | +0.66" | 0 | -1.4" |
| April | 52.6° | -2.7° | 2.71" | -0.89" | 0.9 | +0.6" |
| May | 61.1° | -4.3° | 4.78" | -0.66" | 0 | 0 |
| Spring | 53.9° | -1.9° | 12.22" | -2.12" | 0.9" | -2.1" |
| June | 72.6° | -0.7° | 6.70" | +1.74 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 74.6° | -2.1° | 4.82" | -0.30" | 0 | 0 |
| August | 75.6° | -0.1° | 7.50" | +3.79" | 0 | 0 |
| Summer | 74.3° | -1.0° | 19.02" | +5.23" | 0 | 0 |
| September | 68.3° | -0.8° | 3.15" | -0.27" | 0 | 0 |
| October | 60.8° | +3.0° | 6.58" | +2.92" | 0 | 0 |
| November | 42.7° | -3.4° | 2.08" | -1.29" | T | -0.4" |
| Autumn | 57.3° | -0.4° | 11.81" | +1.31" | T | -0.4" |
| December | 46.4° | +8.6° | 4.59" | +0.39" | T | -1.9" |
| ANNUAL | 55.6° | -0.8° | 57.03" | +7.19" | 15.8" | +1.3" |
| Louisville Ali | ||||||
| Average Temperature | Departure from Normal | Precipitation | Departure from Normal | Snow | Departure from Normal | |
| January | 36.5° | +1.6° | 3.87" | +0.63" | 5.7" | +2.0" |
| February | 33.3° | -5.5° | 5.85" | +2.67" | 11.3" | +6.8" |
| Winter | 36.5° | -0.7° | 12.24" | +1.99" | 17.5" | +6.7" |
| March | 52.7° | +4.9° | 4.76" | +0.59" | 0 | -1.4" |
| April | 58.0° | 0° | 4.00" | -0.01" | 1.8" | +1.7" |
| May | 66.0° | -2.3° | 2.95" | -2.23" | 0 | 0 |
| Spring | 58.9° | +0.3° | 11.71" | -2.87" | 1.8" | -0.4" |
| June | 77.8° | +1.4° | 4.49" | +0.22" | 0 | 0 |
| July | 79.7° | -0.2° | 5.16" | +1.11" | 0 | 0 |
| August | 80.9° | +2.0° | 3.27" | -0.44" | 0 | 0 |
| Summer | 79.5° | +1.1° | 12.92" | +0.89" | 0 | 0 |
| September | 73.4° | +1.4° | 4.76" | +1.10" | 0 | 0 |
| October | 65.0° | +4.7° | 4.04" | +0.32" | 0 | 0 |
| November | 46.3° | -2.2° | 1.63" | -1.79" | 0 | -0.3" |
| Autumn | 61.6° | +1.3° | 10.43" | -0.37" | 0 | -0.4" |
| December | 49.9° | +10.3° | 3.76" | -0.37" | 0 | -2.2" |
| ANNUAL | 60.0° | +1.0° | 48.54" | +0.20" | 18.8" | +5.4" |
5th warmest year on record
| Louisville Bowman | ||||
| Average Temperature | Departure from Normal | Precipitation | Departure from Normal | |
| January | 36.1° | +1.6° | 3.83" | +0.45" |
| February | 32.9° | -5.2° | 5.31" | +2.13" |
| Winter | 35.9° | -0.7° | 11.59" | +1.02" |
| March | 51.3° | +4.3° | 4.30" | +0.14" |
| April | 56.2° | -0.9° | 4.64" | +0.56" |
| May | 64.2° | -3.0° | 2.61" | -2.55" |
| Spring | 57.2° | -0.4° | 11.55" | -2.67" |
| June | 76.5° | +1.0° | 2.80" | -1.88" |
| July | 78.3° | -0.3° | 3.60" | -0.96" |
| August | 79.3° | +1.7° | 3.86" | +0.33" |
| Summer | 78.0° | +0.8° | 10.26" | -2.51" |
| September | 71.9° | +1.5° | 4.75" | +1.14" |
| October | 63.6° | +4.8° | 4.39" | +0.74" |
| November | 44.8° | -2.4° | 1.65" | -1.79" |
| Autumn | 60.1° | +1.3° | 10.79" | +0.09" |
| December | 48.5° | +9.7° | 3.81" | -0.07" |
| ANNUAL | 58.6° | +0.8° | 45.55" | -2.57" |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||
| Pope Lick Park in Louisville, February | Louisville flooding in March | Ground scar from EF-0 tornado in Grayson County March 25 | Foggy morning in Louisville in April | ||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||
| April snow in Pewee Valley, KY | Louisville Water Tower Park in August | The Ohio River near Jeffersonville, IN in August | Jefferson Memorial Forest in October | ||||
.jpg) |
 |
 |
 |
||||
| Trailer destroyed in Stamping Ground, KY, by tornado December 6 | Tornado damage in Ohio County December 11 | Tornado damage in Taylor County December 11 | Tornado damage in Warren County December 11 |
Weather Story
Weather Map
Local Radar
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on YouTube
LMK RSS Feed