Alert archive / Kentucky / Tornado Warnings in 1986
Tornado Warning 8, NWS Louisville, KY
NWS Louisville, KY issued this tornado warning at May 15, 1986, 8:45 PM CDT for Ballard County, Kentucky. It was in force for 60 min.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- May 15, 1986, 8:45 PM CDT (01:45 UTC)
- Expired
- May 15, 1986, 9:45 PM CDT
- In force
- 60 min
- Issued by
- NWS Louisville, KY
- Area
- Whole counties
County Ballard County, KY
The radar
The WSR-88D network and its archive begin in 1991, so there is no radar volume for this alert.
The nearest sounding before it
Salem-Leckrone, IL (KSLO), launched 00:00Z, 1.8 hours before the alert went out and 177 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1239 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -5 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 892 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 39 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 127 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 192 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.9
- Supercell composite
- 5.8
The text
The text of this product is not in the archive. The NWS text archive before 2002 is incomplete.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this tornado warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 15, 4:19 PM CDT, 4 hours 26 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 515 PM EST THU MAY 15 1986 ...A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES FOR A SMALL PART OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNTIL 10 PM EDT TONIGHT... ...AND A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN AND WESTERN KENTUCKY FOR THE REST OF THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT... AT 4 PM EDT...3 PM CDT...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS EXTENDED FROM NEAR COLUMBUS IN CENTRAL INDIANA...SOUTHWEST TO THE VICINITY OF JASPER IN DUBOIS COUNTY IN SOUTHWEST INDIANA...TO NEAR PADUCAH KENTUCKY. THE PRECIPITATION PATTERN APPEARS TO BE SHIFTING SLIGHTLY NORTH...AS THE INDIVIDUAL THUNDERSTORM CELLS MOVE NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR. HEAVY RAINS AND STRONG WINDS HAVE BEEN OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS...BUT THEY POSE NO IMMEDIATE THREAT TO KENTUCKY OR THE COUNTIES OF EXTREME SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA. SKIES WERE PARTLY SUNNY OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF KENTUCKY. TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE MID 70S TO LOW 80S...WITH SOUTHERLY WINDS AT 10 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER GUSTS. DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE CONFINED TO THE NORTHWESTERN COUNTIES OF KENTUCKY ADJACENT TO THE OHIO RIVER FROM PADUCAH TO OW?ENSBORO. THOMAS
Special weather statement, May 15, 5:18 PM CDT, 3 hours 27 minutes before
KSDF 152216 SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 615 PM EST THU MAY 15 1986 ...A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES FOR A SMALL PART OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNTIL 10 PM EDT TONIGHT... ...AND A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN AND WESTERN KENTUCKY FOR THE REST OF TONIGHT... AT 6 PM EDT...5 PM CDT...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS ORIENTED SOUTHWEST--NORTHEAST ACROSS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS... AMD SOUTHWESTERN INDIANA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR. SEVERAL OF THE STORMS IN THIS LINE HAVE BECOME SEVERE...PRODUCING STRONG WINDS AND NUMEROUS FUNNEL CLOUDS OVER SOUTHWEST INDIANA. HOWEVER... SINCE THESE STORMS REMAINED WELL NORTH OF THE OHIO RIVER...THEY POSE NO IMMEDIATE THREAT TO KENTUCKY OR THE COUNTIES IN EXTREME SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA. SKIES WERE PARTLY SUNNY OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF KENTUCKY. TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE MID 70S TO LOW 80S...WITH SOUTHERLY WINxDS AT 10 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER GUSTS. FOR MUCH OF THE EVENING...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE CONFINED TO THE NORTHWESTERN COUNTIES OF KENTUCKY ADJACENT TO THE OHIO RIVER WEST OF OWENSBORO. THOMAS
Special weather statement, May 15, 6:25 PM CDT, 2 hours 20 minutes before
KSDF 152216 SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 725 PM EST THU MAY 15 1986 ...A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES FOR A SMALL PART OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNTIL 10 PM EDT TONIGHT... ...AND A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN AND WESTERN KENTUCKY FOR THE REST OF TONIGHT... AT 7 PM EDT...6 PM CDT...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS ORIENTED SOUTHWEST--NORTHEAST ACROSS SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS... AMD SOUTHWESTERN INDIANA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR. THE NEAREST STRONG STORM WAS MOVING INTO SOUTHERN DUBOIS COUNTY... SOUTH OF HUNTINGBURG. NUMEROUS TORNADOES AND FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THESE STORMS OVER SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA. DURING THE PAST HOUR...SEVERAL SMALLER SHOWERS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER SOUTHERN INDIANA BETWEEN THE OHIO RIVER AND THE MAIN THUNDERSTORM AREA. < SKIES WERE CLOUDY OVER THE REST OF KENTUCKY. TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE MID TO UPPER 70S...WITH SOUTHERLY WINDS AT 10 TO 20 MILES AN HOUR WITH WITH OCCASIONAL HIGHER GUSTS. DURING THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE CONFINED TO THE NORTHERN COUNTIES OF KENTUCKY ADJACENT TO THE OHIO RIVER. THOMAS
Special weather statement, May 15, 7:15 PM CDT, 1 hour 30 minutes before
KSDF 152216 SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 815 PM EST THU MAY 15 1986 ...A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES FOR A SMALL PART OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNTIL 10 PM EDT TONIGHT... AT 8 PM EDT...7 PM CDT...A LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WAS ORIENTED SOUTHWEST--NORTHEAST ACROSS WESTERN KENTUCKY...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS... AMD SOUTHWESTERN INDIANA...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR. OTHER LIGHTER SHOWERS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY AND SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA...WHILE SKIES REMAINED CLOUDY OVER THE REST OF THE STATE. TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE MID 70S...AND WINDS WERE SOUTHERLY AT 5 TO 15 MILES AN HOUR. NUMEROUS TORNADOES AND FUNNEL CLOUDS HAVE BEEN REPORTED WITH THUNDER/ STORMS OVER SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA THIS EVENING...BUT NO SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED IN KENTUCKY. THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH THAT WAS IN EFFECT FOR NORTHERN AND WESTERN KENTUCKY HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THOMAS
Special weather statement, May 15, 8:16 PM CDT, 29 minutes before
KSDF 152216 SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 915 PM EST THU MAY 15 1986 ...A TORNADO WATCH CONTINUES FOR A SMALL PART OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNTIL 10 PM EDT TONIGHT... A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS HAD DEVELOPED OVER WESTERN AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY AS OF 9 PM EDT...8 PM CDT...BUT THE STRONGEST THUNDERSTORMS REMAINED WELL TO OUR WEST...OVER SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA. THESE STORMS WERE MOVING NORTHEAST AT 45 MILES AN HOUR...AND POSE NO IMMEDIATE THREAT ANY PART OF KENTUCKY EXCEPT THE FAR WEST. NO SEVERE WEATHER HAS BEEN REPORTED IN THE STATE THIS EVENING. SKIES REMAINED CLOUDY OVER THE REST OF THE STATE. TEMPERATURES WERE IN THE MID 70S...AND WINDS WERE SOUTHERLY AT 5 TO 15 MILES AN HOUR. THOMAS
Local storm report, May 15, 8:32 PM CDT, 13 minutes before
LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
930 PM EDT THU MAY 15 1986
TIME EVENT
REPORTS
415 PM EDT JASPER STATE POLICE REPORT LARGE TREES DOWN ACROSS
) HIGHWAY 150 NORTHEAST OF FRENCH LICK INDIANA (ORANGE
COUNTY).
THOMASThe office that day
Everything else NWS Louisville, KY issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 9:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Fulton, Hickman | 60 min |
| May 15, 9:15 PM CDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | LMK | Carlisle | 60 min |
Nearby
Tornado Warnings in Kentucky, 1986Every tornado warning in 1986Tornadoes in 1986
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.