June Summary

June 2023 started off dry with a stripe of moderate drought stretching from Frankfort and Carlisle south to Greensburg and Jamestown. Fortunately temperatures were near normal, with just minor impact to local agriculture. After several days without precipitation, rains did bring some relief on the 7th, with a narrow band of about an inch of rain reaching from Louisville to Liberty. While this did not reduce the drought, it kept it in check.

Low pressure moving from Saint Louis to Cleveland brought severe storms to the Lake Cumberland region on the 11th. Golf ball sized hail was reported near Argyle in Casey County and some wind damage was done at Green River Lake State Park. Cool weather followed the system with daily average temperatures on the 12th and 13th eight to thirteen degrees below normal.

Two waves of powerful thunderstorms, one in the morning and one in the evening, brought widespread severe weather to the entire region on the 25th-26th. NWS Louisville issued a total of 64 warnings, with every county in southern Indiana and central Kentucky being under at least one warning at some point. Three tornadoes struck the area, including a short-lived EF2 near Cecilia in Hardin County. Huge hail three inches in diameter (slightly larger than a baseball) struck French Lick in Orange County, damaging the West Baden Springs Hotel's famous atrium roof. The hail pounded huge divots into the Pete Dye Golf Course.

Just a few days later, three waves of storms swept through on the 29th, causing scattered wind damage especially in southern Indiana and central Kentucky west of Interstate 65.

	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal	Precipitation	Departure from Normal
Bowling Green	74.1°	-2.0°	2.65"	-1.86"
Frankfort	69.9°	-3.8°	5.96"	+1.62"
Lexington	71.5°	-1.8°	6.75"	+1.79"
Louisville Ali	74.4°	-2.0°	4.99"	+0.72"
Louisville Bowman	71.1°	-4.3°	4.35"	-0.33"

Records

11th: Rainfall of 1.10" at Frankfort
25th: Rainfall of 2.17" at Louisville
30th: Rainfall of 2.57" at Lexington

10th coolest June on record at Frankfort

Big Hail in French Lick, Indiana June 25, 2023

Big hail in French Lick, Indiana on the 25th. Courtesy of Sandy Hercamp via Marc Weinberg