The month of June proved to be stormy and wet for much of the Midwest and Ohio Valley. Several precipitation complexes moved across the area, bringing thunderstorms and torrential downpours. Some of these thunderstorms brought strong winds, large hail, and even some isolated tornadoes across Illinois and south central Indiana.
The month of June got off to a warm start for Chicagoland, with temperatures in the upper 80s and lower 90s. However, a powerful cold front would bring a line of gusty thunderstorms through the area on June 2nd. O’Hare reported a 47 mph wind gust with these storms, even though most of the heavy rain stayed to the south of the airport. However, there would be much more rain to come for the Chicago Metro Area. A steady period of rain moved through the region on June 10th and 11th, bringing a widespread 1.00 - 2.00 inches of rain for the region. The rainfall was steady and not overly heavy, which mitigated any potential flooding. A stretch of much nicer weather provided sunshine and pleasant temperatures from June 13-16th. The hottest day of the month was June 17th, as temperatures climbed into the lower 90s.
After a stretch of fairly quiet weather, more unsettled conditions pushed through the region June 18th, 21st, 24th, and 30th, bringing strong to severe thunderstorms to Chicago. The suburbs of the city received multiple episodes of damaging winds in excess of 60 mph. Aurora, IL reported a wind gust of 77 mph on June 18th! On June 24th, a funnel cloud was seen over parts of Dupage and Cook Counties. In addition to the incredible winds, rainfall amounts of over 2.00 - 4.00 inches were common over these few days. The most intense rainfall rates came on June 30th, where Midway Aiport received 0.80" of rain in just 7 minutes! This rainfall led to flash flooding across much of northern Illinois. The active weather continued through the end of the month, making June one of the wettest on record for the region. Midway's rainfall total for the period exceeded 10 inches, making it the second wettest June in the last 86 years.
Farther south and east toward central Indiana, June also proved to be very wet. June rainfall totaled 6.28 inches at Indianapolis International Airport, which was 2.31” above average. Out of the 30 days in June, only nine of them were completely dry. The wettest days of the month were June 2nd and June 4th, where 1.03” and 1.44” of rain fell, respectively.
Temperatures were very close to average for the month on average, without any major temperature swings. The warmest stretch was experienced from June 17-19th, where temperatures rose into the upper 80s and lower 90s each day. The average monthly temperature for this June was 70.5, which was about 0.7 degrees above average.
There were multiple thunderstorms that pushed through the area in June, which is typical for this time of year. However, the most interesting day of the month was June 24th, as a tornado touched down just outside of center city Indianapolis. To read more about the tornado… click here.
