Alert archive / Kentucky / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 1998

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 67, NWS Louisville, KY

May 20, 1998Jessamine County, Woodford County, Kentucky

NWS Louisville, KY issued this severe thunderstorm warning at May 20, 1998, 5:40 PM EDT for Jessamine County, Woodford County, Kentucky. It was in force for 45 min. 1 report 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, 5:40 PM EDT (21:40 UTC)
Expired
May 20, 1998, 6:25 PM EDT
In force
45 min
Issued by
NWS Louisville, KY
Area
Whole counties

Counties Jessamine County, KY, Woodford County, KY

The radar

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 112 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 21:40 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
May 20, 5:50 PM EDTThunderstorm Wind 50Nicholasville, 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.

IssuedProductOfficeLasted
May 20, 5:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WatchSPC5 hr

The nearest sounding before it

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), launched 12:00Z, 9.7 hours before the alert went out and 180 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 1998-05-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 7 joules per kilogram.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 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, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 1998-05-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 66 square meters per square second.193958Sfc1 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
7 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-235 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
898 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
66 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
60 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.

501 
WUUS1 KSDF 202143 RRA
SVRSDF
KYC079-113-137-239-202225-

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

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN LOUISVILLE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  GARRARD COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL KENTUCKY
  JESSAMINE COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL KENTUCKY
  LINCOLN COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY
  WOODFORD COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL KENTUCKY

* UNTIL 625 PM EDT

* AT 540 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS 25 MILES SOUTHWEST OF LEXINGTON
  CENTERED NEAR HARRODSBURG... MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 40 MPH .

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR...
  MORTONSVILLE BY 610 PM EDT
  NICHOLASVILLE BY 600 PM EDT
  LANCASTER BY 600 PM EDT
  STANFORD BY 600 PM EDT

THIS IS A DANGEROUS STORM STAY INDOORS AWAY FROM WINDOWS.
WINDS OF 60 TO 80 MPH WILL LIKELY OCCUR WITH THESE STORMS.

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, 5:15 PM EDT, 25 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
515 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

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

0440 PM    CORYDON                   IN   WIND DAMAGE
05/20/98   HARRISON                       TREES AND POWER LINES
                                          DOWN. REPORT FROM SHERIFF.
Local storm report, May 20, 5:19 PM EDT, 21 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
519 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

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

0450 PM    VALLEY STATION            KY   WIND DAMAGE
05/20/98   JEFFERSON                      TREES DOWN ACROSS DIXIE
                                          HIGHWAY AND IN PLEASURE
                                          RIDGE PARK. REPORT FROM
                                          LOCAL POLICE.
Local storm report, May 20, 5:27 PM EDT, 13 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
527 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

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

0510 PM    BARDSTOWN                 KY   WIND DAMAGE
05/20/98   NELSON                         NUMEROUS REPORTS OF TREES
                                          AND POWER LINES DOWN. MUCH
                                          OF BARDSTOWN WITHOUT
                                          POWER. REPORT FROM LOCAL
                                          DISPATCH.
Local storm report, May 20, 5:34 PM EDT, 6 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY
534 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

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

0520 PM    SPRINGFIELD               KY   WIND DAMAGE
05/20/98   WASHINGTON                     60 MPH WIND GUSTS. REPORT
                                          FROM DISPATCH.

0525 PM    LEBANON                   KY   WIND DAMAGE
05/20/98   MARION                         TREES DOWN ACROSS THE
                                          CITY. REPORT FROM
                                          DISPATCH.
Special weather statement, May 20, 5:39 PM EDT, 1 minute before
KYZ046-054-202210-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
539 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR MARION AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES OF
CENTRAL KENTUCKY HAS EXPIRED...

AT 535 PM EDT WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT SEVERE
WEATHER HAD MOVED OUT OF BOTH WASHINGTON AND MARION COUNTIES.

LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE OVER BOTH
WASHINGTON AND MARION COUNTIES THROUGH 6PM EDT.

THEREFORE THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

RNK
Special weather statement, May 20, 5:39 PM EDT, 1 minute before
KYZ046-054-202210-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
539 PM EDT WED MAY 20 1998

...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR MARION AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES OF
CENTRAL KENTUCKY HAS EXPIRED...

AT 535 PM EDT WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THAT SEVERE
WEATHER HAD MOVED OUT OF BOTH WASHINGTON AND MARION COUNTIES.

LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND GUSTY WINDS WILL CONTINUE OVER BOTH
WASHINGTON AND MARION COUNTIES THROUGH 6PM EDT.

THEREFORE THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO EXPIRE.

RNK

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
May 20, 12:45 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKJefferson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer35 min
May 20, 1:00 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKBullitt35 min
May 20, 1:18 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKAnderson, Franklin32 min
May 20, 1:43 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKFayette32 min
May 20, 2:20 AM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKMadison20 min
May 20, 3:25 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKHancock40 min
May 20, 3:53 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKBreckinridge, Meade37 min
May 20, 4:29 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKBullitt, Hardin, Jefferson36 min
May 20, 4:55 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKLarue, Nelson30 min
May 20, 5:00 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKSpencer30 min
May 20, 5:10 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKMarion, Washington30 min
May 20, 5:15 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKGreen, Taylor30 min
May 20, 5:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKAnderson, Mercer39 min
May 20, 5:26 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKBoyle, Casey39 min
May 20, 5:40 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKGarrard, Lincoln45 min
May 20, 6:05 PM EDTSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMKClark, Fayette, Madison40 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in Kentucky, 1998Every 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.