Severe Thunderstorm Threat From the Central Plains to the Northeast; Extreme HeatRisk for the East Coast

Strong to severe thunderstorms are possible from the central Plains to the Northeast through this evening. Widespread damaging winds are the primary threat but hail and a tornado or two is also possible. Extremely dangerous heat continues across the Eastern U.S. Warm overnight low temperatures will provide little to no relief. Read More >

June was our second consecutive very warm month in central Kentucky and southern Indiana, landing in the top ten warmest on record at Bowling Green and Louisville. This was primarily achieved through temperatures that were only slightly above normal on any given day, but persistent through most of the month. No significant heat waves struck and no record highs were met. We had a lot of moderately warm days, several very warm nights, and just a few cool days. The warmest spell during the month was from the 17th to the 19th when daily average temperatures were about 8 to 10 degrees above normal. The coolest day of the month was on the 4th when temperatures were 2 to 3 degrees below normal and many locations enjoyed morning lows in the 50s.

Scattered summertime thunderstorms delivered rainfall to the region, with some folks getting doused and others receiving less. The map below shows a stripe of very wet conditions across central Kentucky and southwest Indiana with lesser amounts north and south.

Percentage of normal rainfall, June 2018

With those scattered storms came occasional severe weather, usually in the form of gusty winds. The most significant thunderstorms of the month came on the 25th and 26th as several rounds of intense storms rolled through the region. On the 25th small tornadoes touched down in Ohio and Edmonson counties. On the 26th an EF-1 tornado formed in Worthington Hills on the far east side of Jefferson County and proceeded east for about three and a half miles through Pewee Valley.

	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal	Rain	Departure from Normal
Bowling Green	79.6°	+4.6°	3.33"	-0.87"
Frankfort	75.9°	+3.3°	5.24"	+1.15"
Lexington	75.8°	+3.1°	3.92"	-0.52"
Louisville Bowman	78.1°	+3.0°	6.82"	+2.68"
Louisville International	79.2°	+3.6°	6.38"	+2.59"

Records

2nd: Warm low of 72° at Bowling Green
19th: Warm low of 77° at Bowling Green, warm low of 73° at Lexington, warm low of 78° at Louisville
25th: Record rainfall of 1.88" at Frankfort

5th warmest June on record at Louisville
9th warmest June on record at Bowling Green

Walnut tree felled in Holland, Indiana June 26, 2018