Alert archive / Kentucky / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1997

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 64, NWS Paducah, KY

April 30, 1997Graves County, McCracken County, Kentucky

NWS Paducah, KY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Apr 30, 1997, 6:21 PM CDT for Graves County, McCracken County, Kentucky. It was in force for 39 min. 3 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued
Apr 30, 1997, 6:21 PM CDT (23:21 UTC)
Expired
Apr 30, 1997, 7:00 PM CDT
In force
39 min
Issued by
NWS Paducah, KY
Area
Whole counties

Counties Graves County, KY, McCracken County, KY

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 22 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 23:22 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

What was reported inside it

TimeReportWhereRemark
Apr 30, 6:45 PM CDTThunderstorm WindMelber, KY
Apr 30, 6:47 PM CDTHail 1.75Paducah, KY
Apr 30, 6:50 PM CDTThunderstorm Wind 50Lowes, KY

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

The nearest sounding before it

Lincoln, IL (KILX), launched 12:00Z, 11.4 hours before the alert went out and 363 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.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 1997-04-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Lincoln, IL at 12:00Z on 1997-04-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 115 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
1130 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
115 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
166 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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 severe thunderstorm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Apr 30, 1:17 PM CDT, 5 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 30, 1:17 PM CDT, 5 hours 4 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
115 PM CDT WED APR 30 1997

INITIAL FORECAST PROBLEM IS COLD FRONT MOVING ACROSS MISSOURI AT 17Z.
MORNING RAOBS AND RUC DATA INDICATE STRONG CAPPING OVER THE REGION
SHOULD WEAKEN AS DAYTIME HEATING AND WARM MOIST ADVECTION CONTINUE.
700 MB COOLING IS PROGGED TO BEGIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON...WHICH WOULD
ERASE THE CAP AROUND THE TIME OF FRONTAL PASSAGE. KLSX RADAR AT 18Z
SHOWS INTENSE CONVECTION OVER NE MISSOURI. WILL HAVE TO MONITOR FOR
MORE CONVECTION DEVELOPING SOUTHWARD THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
HIGHER CHANCE OF STORM DEVELOPMENT SHOULD BE TO THE NORTH...WHERE CAP
IS WEAKER AND DYNAMIC FORCING WILL BE STRONGER.

FRONTAL PASSAGE SHOULD BE AROUND 02Z AT KPAH AND 03-04Z AT KEVV. THIS
SHOULD END THUNDERSTORM THREAT. COLD AIR ADVECTION BEHIND FRONT IS
FAIRLY IMPRESSIVE. NGM BRINGS 850 ZERO DEGREE ISOTHERM DOWN TO KEVV
BY 12Z THURSDAY. HOWEVER...THE ATMOSPHERE SHOULD REMAIN WELL MIXED
AS BOUNDARY LAYER WINDS STAY AROUND 20 KNOTS OVERNIGHT. FWC AND FAN
INDICATE UPPER 40S FOR LOWS TONIGHT...WHICH LOOKS REASONABLE.

SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL CROSS THE FA THURSDAY...ENDING THE
COLD ADVECTION. NGM EVEN HINTS AT RETURN FLOW BY 00Z FRIDAY.
TEMPS SHOULD RECOVER NICELY WITH STRONG SOLAR HEATING AND NEUTRAL
TEMP ADVECTION. FAN/FWC HIGHS APPEAR IN THE BALLPARK.

MY

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 30, 4:29 PM CDT, 1 hour 52 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Apr 30, 5:45 PM CDT, 36 minutes before
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Special weather statement, Apr 30, 5:46 PM CDT, 35 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 30, 6:12 PM CDT, 9 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 30, 6:17 PM CDT, 4 minutes before
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Local storm report, Apr 30, 6:19 PM CDT, 2 minutes before
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The office that day

Everything else NWS Paducah, KY issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Apr 30, 6:03 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHCarlisle42 min
Apr 30, 6:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHLivingston, Marshall39 min
Apr 30, 5:51 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHMississippi39 min
Apr 30, 4:19 PM CDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningPAHJefferson, Wayne41 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kentucky, 1997Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1997

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; verification from NCEI's Storm Data; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.