August 2023 summary

Shortly after midnight early on August 7 a severe squall line pushed across southern Indiana and the Louisville metro. Six weak tornadoes spun up as the line of storms moved through, with most of the damage occurring along IN 56 from north of Jasper to Salem where tornado winds up to 107 mph were estimated.

The only other significant severe weather event of the month took place on the evening of the 25th when severe storms developed over north central Kentucky and far southern Indiana, including the Louisville metro once again. There were many reports of tree and power line damage associated with wet microbursts, and the Kentucky Mesonet station near Waddy in Shelby County reported a wind gust of 83 mph!

A heat wave swept the region from the 21st to 26th with highs each day well into the 90s. The sweltering heat peaked on the 25th with many locations hitting the upper 90s with heat index readings over 110 degrees.

	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal	Precipitation	Departure from Normal
Bowling Green	77.5°	-1.0°	5.93"	+2.04"
Frankfort	75.1°	-1.0°	2.82"	-0.33"
Lexington	76.3°	+0.6°	2.40"	-1.31"
Louisville Ali	78.3°	-0.6°	3.54"	-0.17"
Louisville Bowman	75.6°	-2.0°	4.19"	+0.66"

Records

6th: Warm low of 75° at Lexington
24th: Warm low of 78° at Louisville
25th: Warm low of 77° at Bowling Green

Tornado damage in northern Dubois County, Indiana on August 7, 2023

Tornado damage in northern Dubois County on the 7th. NWS Storm Survey