April in Review

Well, April 2011 will go down in the record books as one of the most violent and wet months of all time, not only for the state of Kentucky, but throughout many areas primarily east of the Mississippi river.

First, the obvious here in Kentucky. Record rains for the month were set in places like Frankfort, Lexington, and Louisville. How do these amounts compare to the all-time wettest months ever? Here's a breakdown.

As of 04/29:
Louisville (C) 13.97"
Louisville (R) 5th

Lexington (C) 12.70"
Lexington (R) 4th

Frankfort (C) 13.95"
Frankfort (R) 2nd

* (C) current month; (R) all-time wettest month ranking

For the year, Louisville has recorded 26.31". Last year about this time, we had collected 9.91"

Next, the flooding along the Ohio river reached levels not seen since 1997. McAlpine LG readings exceeded 62 ft while the UG readings exceeded 32ft. However, while our flooding still did not reach record levels, some places in the western part of Kentucky have indeed set all-time levels.

At one point, some 90 roads were closed due to high water in Henderson county. Paducah and Smithland recorded record flooding levels, and they may not see levels below flood stage for quite a while.

Finally, let's don't forget that it's been a violent month of severe weather. For the last several days, I've been paying special attention to the number of confirmed tornadoes in the state. The all-time record for confirmed tornadoes in any month for Kentucky is 29, in 1974 (the most recent). While storm survey analyses are continuing, the latest figures are somewhere in the low 20's range. Those numbers may go higher once the NWS surveys are officially completed.

What I found interesting about the confirmed tornado counts is that in several locations, only wind damage was intially reported. But, in reality, tornadoes caused much of  those damages, however brief the touchdowns may have been.

More updates later...
MS