LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Despite a wet start to 2022, Kentucky and Indiana fell into a drought later in the year due to several months of underachieving rainfall. Thankfully, we've had a surplus of moisture right off the bat this year!
The abundance of rain has dug us out of that drought, and Mother Nature just kept on giving. We are currently 2.23" above the usual amount of rainfall for the month.
It's been a decade since we last saw 5" or more of rain at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
As we know, rain is typically a good thing. However, too much of it can lead to serious problems. Flooding is a hazard that is all too familiar to long-time Louisvillians (a.k.a. the Great Flood of 1937).
According to the Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, only two of the top 10 historic Ohio River crests occurred in January. The other eight took place in either February, March or April. At this time, river levels are flirting with normal and flooding is not an immediate concern.
You can observe the latest Ohio River levels here.
Despite the unusually wet month we've had, it's not quite top 10. We are 2.1" shy of January 2023 holding a top 10 title. Nevertheless, January isn't over just yet! With rain in the forecast for this weekend, we will likely add to the total before the month is over.
Let's take a dive into the forecast to see how much closer we could realistically get to historical status.
At this point, rain looks likely early Sunday and may linger into early Monday. Forecasted totals are right around half an inch, with lesser amounts in southern Indiana. These projected rainfall totals would still put us short of top 10 if we ended there.
The last day of the month features one last chance for moisture. This time around, temperatures will be much colder so snow is possible during the last few hours of the month.
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