January Summary

January 2023 stayed true to La Niña with wetter than normal conditions. Along with the wet pattern, temperatures remained quite warm overall, with only 3 to 5 days of the month, depending on location, with an average daily temperature that was colder than normal. While we did have some wintry precipitation, the warm temperatures kept monthly snowfall amounts very low. Most of the snowfall was restricted to southern Indiana, and even there totals for the month were on the order of three to five inches.

Similar to 2022, 2023 started off with a significant storm system rolling through the region. From the 2nd into the 3rd about 2.50-5.50" of rain fell in a broad corridor generally from Owensboro through Elizabethtown and Louisville to Lexington and the northern Blue Grass. Many reports of flooding were received and there were several water rescues, including one for a school bus in Bourbon County.

Relatively warm temperatures enveloped the region from the 4th to the 13th with many afternoons seeing temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Unfortunately on the 12th several rounds of thunderstorms moved through the area during the early morning hours, spawning four EF-1 tornadoes between 8:47am and 9:45am. Though there was some property damage, no one was hurt.

The most widespread snowfall of the month took place on the 21st-22nd when 1-3" of snow fell from southern Indiana into northern Kentucky. A couple of spots between English and Salem topped four inches. However, the most impactful snow of the month occurred on the early morning of the 27th. Two narrow bands of snow set up from just east of Louisville to the north side of the Lexington metropolitan area. Although most reports that came in indicated only about half an inch of snow fell, traffic on the interstates compacted it into a slick layer of ice, resulting in many accidents and causing the interstates around Lexington to be closed down for several hours.

	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal	Precipitation	Departure from Normal	Snow	Departure from Normal
Bowling Green	44.9°	+7.7°	4.82"	+1.18"	T	-3.2"
Frankfort	41.7°	+7.6°	5.82"	+2.55"
Lexington	43.0°	+9.1°	6.29"	+2.87"	0.7"	-4.0"
Louisville Ali	43.4°	+7.7°	5.36"	+1.97"	1.2"	-3.3"
Louisville Bowman	41.5°	+6.5°	4.99"	+1.71"

Records

3rd: Rainfall of 3.04" at Frankfort, warm low of 60° at Louisville

Bowling Green's 6th warmest January
Frankfort's 10th warmest January
Lexington's 2nd warmest January
Louisville's 4th warmest January

Tornado damage near Harrodsburg, KY January 12, 2023

Tornado damage near Harrodsburg on the 12th. NWS storm survey