April 2018 Summary

Although April is often a stormy month in the Ohio Valley, in April 2018 there was only one day on which severe weather occurred in southern Indiana or central Kentucky. On the evening of the 3rd a strong cold front brought several rounds of showers and storms to the region. Straight-line winds of 75-95mph felled trees and damaged structures in the counties of Grayson, Hardin, Edmonson, and LaRue. Two small, brief EF1 tornadoes were produced as well: one in Grayson County and the other in Boyle County. Hail fell from some of the strongest storms, with hailstones the size of golf balls reported in several locations.

This April may not have been particularly stormy, but it was cold! Or, at least, cold by April standards. At Louisville 20 of the month's 30 days were colder than normal. Lexington, Frankfort, and Bowling Green had 19 such days.

Every day from the 4th to the 11th was colder than normal. On the 6th a cold front passed through the region from north to south. The next day low pressure over Atlanta threw moisture back into the cold air behind the front, resulting in snowfall for southern Indiana and central Kentucky. An inch of snow was reported in Louisville and at several other spots.

The next cold wave came mid-month and brought more snow with it. On the 16th snowflakes flew, though most of them melted when they came in contact with the warm ground. Nevertheless, a few tenths of an inch of snow were reported, with CoCoRaHS observers in Hardin County and Clark County, Indiana, reporting around half an inch. The 16th was also significant due to the fact that the average daily temperature was 18 to 23 degrees below normal.

	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal	Precipitation	Departure from Normal	Snowfall	Departure from Normal
Bowling Green	52.9°	-4.9°	3.83"	-0.51"	0.3"	+0.1"
Frankfort	50.9°	-4.3°	4.23"	+0.54"
Lexington	50.9°	-4.4°	4.34"	+0.74"	1.4"	+1.1"
Louisville Bowman	52.1°	-5.0°	3.54"	-0.54"
Louisville International	53.2°	-4.8°	3.40"	-0.61"	1.2"	+1.1"

Records

7th: Record snow depth of a trace at Bowling Green, record snowfall of 0.6" at Lexington
9th: Record snowfall of 0.8" at Lexington, record snow depth of 1" at Lexington
13th: Record warm low of 63° at Frankfort
16th: Record cold high of 40° at Bowling Green, record snowfall of a trace at Bowling Green, record cold high of 42° at Louisville
30th: Record low of 32° at Frankfort

7th snowiest April on record at Louisville
8th snowiest April on record at Bowling Green
9th snowiest April on record at Lexington
8th coldest April on record at Bowling Green
10th coldest April on record at Frankfort

Barren County, April 3 2018

Storm damage on the 3rd in Barren County. Photo courtesy Nikki Sallee