Alert archive / Kentucky / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 63, NWS Louisville, KY

May 20, 1998Marion County, Washington County, Kentucky

NWS Louisville, KY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 1998, 5:10 PM EDT for Marion County, Washington County, Kentucky. It was in force for 30 min. 2 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: May 20, 1998, 5:10 PM EDT (21:10 UTC)
Expired: May 20, 1998, 5:40 PM EDT
In force: 30 min
Issued by: NWS Louisville, KY
Area: Whole counties

Counties Marion County, KY, Washington County, KY

The radar

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 73 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:10 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

Time	Report	Where	Remark
May 20, 5:20 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Springfield, KY
May 20, 5:25 PM EDT	Thunderstorm Wind 50	Lebanon, 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 watch it was issued in

The SPC watch in force over the same counties when this warning went out.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
May 20, 5:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Watch	SPC	5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 9.2 hours before the alert went out and 209 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 647 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -298 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1537 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 100 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: -0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

408 
WUUS1 KSDF 202110 RRA
SVRSDF
KYC155-229-202140-

BULLETIN - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
510 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOUISVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  MARION COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY
  WASHINGTON COUNTY IN NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY

* UNTIL 540 PM EDT

* AT 510 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 35 MILES SOUTH OF LOUISVILLE NEAR NEW HOPE...
  MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  SPRINGFIELD BY 525 PM EDT
  LEBANON BY 525 PM EDT

DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL ARE LIKELY. GO INSIDE A STURDY
BUILDING AND STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS

FUNK/KIRKPATRICK

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.

In the hours before

Local storm report, May 20, 4:00 PM EDT, 1 hour 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
759 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0345 PM    LEWISPORT                 KY   WIND DAMAGE
05/20/98   HANCOCK                        TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN. REPORT FROM POLICE
                                          DEPARTMENT

0345 PM    LEWISPORT                 KY   1.75 INCH HAIL
05/20/98   HANCOCK

0350 PM    TELL CITY                 IN   WIND DAMAGE
05/20/98   PERRY                          ROOF DAMAGE. REPORZT FROM
                                          DES.

Local storm report, May 20, 4:41 PM EDT, 29 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
839 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0420 PM    PAYNEVILLE                KY   60 MPH TSTM GUST
05/20/98   MEADE                          REPORT FROM DES.

Local storm report, May 20, 5:00 PM EDT, 10 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
858 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0435 PM    VINE GROVE                KY   WIND DAMAGE
05/20/98   HARDIN                         TREES DOWN ACROSS HIGHWAY
                                          144 AND OTHER STREETS
                                          ACROSS COUNTY. POWER LINES
                                          ALSO DOWN. REPORT FROM
                                          VINE GROVE POLICE.

Local storm report, May 20, 5:04 PM EDT, 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
504 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0450 PM    SHEPHERDSVILLE            KY   WIND DAMAGE
05/20/98   BULLITT                        POWER LINES DOWN BETWEEN
                                          SHEPHERDSVILLE AND MT
                                          WASHINGTON. REPORT FROM
                                          LOCAL DISPATCH.

Local storm report, May 20, 5:10 PM EDT, 0 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
510 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

TIME(EDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0435 PM    MARENGO                   IN   WIND DAMAGE
05/20/98   CRAWFORD                       TREES DOWN. REPORT FROM
                                          NWS SPOTTER.

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
May 20, 12:45 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Jefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer	35 min
May 20, 1:00 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Bullitt	35 min
May 20, 1:18 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Anderson, Franklin	32 min
May 20, 1:43 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Fayette	32 min
May 20, 2:20 AM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Madison	20 min
May 20, 3:25 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Hancock	40 min
May 20, 3:53 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Breckinridge, Meade	37 min
May 20, 4:29 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Bullitt, Hardin, Jefferson	36 min
May 20, 4:55 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Larue, Nelson	30 min
May 20, 5:00 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Spencer	30 min
May 20, 5:15 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Green, Taylor	30 min
May 20, 5:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Anderson, Mercer	39 min
May 20, 5:26 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Boyle, Casey	39 min
May 20, 5:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Jessamine, Woodford	45 min
May 20, 5:40 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Garrard, Lincoln	45 min
May 20, 6:05 PM EDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	LMK	Clark, Fayette, Madison	40 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kentucky, 1998 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 1998

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.