April 2019 Summary

April is well known for its powerful spring storms, but this year April was very quiet in the Ohio Valley. There were only three instances of severe weather in southern Indiana and central Kentucky during the month. The first was a small EF1 tornado that spun up in an isolated thunderstorm moving through Oldham County around sunrise on the 12th. Most of the damage was to trees. The next severe storm was on the 23rd when hail the size of quarters struck Middletown in Jefferson County, KY. The final storms were on the 25th near Smithfield in Henry County when trees were blown down and a barn was damaged, and near Greenville in Floyd County where a barn was destroyed.

On the 20th cold air swept into the region behind low pressure crossing the Appalachians. Temperatures fell into the middle and upper 30s in the region, with a few spots briefly dipping into the lower 30s. Clouds and wind prevented frost from forming, but some light snow was witnessed east of Louisville.

	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal	Precipitation	Departure from Normal	Snow	Departure from Normal
Bowling Green	60.1°	+2.4°	4.87"	+0.53"	0	-0.1"
Frankfort	58.7°	+3.5°	6.20"	+2.51"
Lexington	59.1°	+3.8°	4.39"	+0.79"	0	-0.3"
Louisville Bowman	58.0°	+0.9°	7.75"	+3.67"
Louisville International	61.2°	+3.2°	6.62"	+2.61"	0	-0.1"

Records

19th: Rainfall of 1.95" at Frankfort, rainfall of 1.80" at Louisville

9th warmest April on record at Lexington

Pine tree snapped by EF1 tornado in Oldham County, Kentucky, April 12, 2019

Pine tree felled by EF1 tornado in Oldham County on the 12th. Photo: NWS