Alert archive / Kentucky / Winter Storm Warnings in 2015

Winter Storm Warning 3, NWS Paducah, KY

March 3, 201522 counties in Kentucky; 19 counties in Illinois; 11 counties in Missouri

NWS Paducah, KY issued this winter storm warning at Mar 3, 2015, 2:51 PM CST for 22 counties in Kentucky; 19 counties in Illinois; 11 counties in Missouri. It took effect at Mar 4, 2015, 6:00 AM CST. It was in force for 24 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Mar 3, 2015, 2:51 PM CST (20:51 UTC)
In effect from
Mar 4, 2015, 6:00 AM CST
Expired
Mar 5, 2015, 6:00 AM CST
In force
24 hr
Issued by
NWS Paducah, KY
All 52 counties

Alexander County, IL, Edwards County, IL, Franklin County, IL, Gallatin County, IL, Hamilton County, IL, Hardin County, IL, Jackson County, IL, Jefferson County, IL, Johnson County, IL, Massac County, IL, Perry County, IL, Pope County, IL, Pulaski County, IL, Saline County, IL, Union County, IL, Wabash County, IL, Wayne County, IL, White County, IL, Williamson County, IL, Ballard County, KY, Caldwell County, KY, Calloway County, KY, Carlisle County, KY, Christian County, KY, Crittenden County, KY, Daviess County, KY, Fulton County, KY, Graves County, KY, Henderson County, KY, Hickman County, KY, Hopkins County, KY, Livingston County, KY, Lyon County, KY, Marshall County, KY, McCracken County, KY, McLean County, KY, Muhlenberg County, KY, Todd County, KY, Trigg County, KY, Union County, KY, Webster County, KY, Bollinger County, MO, Butler County, MO, Cape Girardeau County, MO, Carter County, MO, Mississippi County, MO, New Madrid County, MO, Perry County, MO, Ripley County, MO, Scott County, MO, Stoddard County, MO, Wayne County, MO

The radar

The Paducah radar (KPAH), 31 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:54 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.

The nearest sounding before it

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), launched 12:00Z, 8.9 hours before the alert went out and 232 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2015-03-03Temperature 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, Nashville Metro, TN at 12:00Z on 2015-03-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 242 square meters per square second.1939587897Sfc1 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
562 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
57 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
242 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
278 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this winter storm 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 winter storm warning went out at Mar 3, 11:41 AM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 3, 11:41 AM CST, 3 hours 10 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
1141 AM CST TUE MAR 3 2015

.UPDATE...
ISSUED AT 1141 AM CST TUE MAR 3 2015

UPDATED AVIATION SECTION FOR 18Z TAF ISSUANCE.

&&

.SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT)
ISSUED AT 322 AM CST TUE MAR 3 2015

FIRST SHORT TERM CONCERN IS THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAIN AND
THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE NEXT CONCERN IS THE
POTENTIAL FOR A SIGNIFICANT WINTER WEATHER EVENT WEDNESDAY INTO
WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

THE CHANCE OF LIGHT PRECIPITATION WILL BE ON THE INCREASE THIS
MORNING AS WARM ADVECTION DEVELOPS IN ASSOCIATION WITH A PASSING
WARM FRONT. IN FACT...HIGH TEMPERATURES THIS AFTERNOON ARE
FORECAST TO RANGE FROM THE UPPER 40S ALONG INTERSTATE 64 TO THE
LOWER 60S NEAR THE TENNESSEE BORDER.

BY THIS AFTERNOON AND ESPECIALLY TONIGHT...COPIOUS SUBTROPICAL
MOISTURE WILL STREAM INTO THE REGION AS A STRONG COLD FRONT
APPROACHES FROM THE PLAINS. THIS WILL RESULT IN THE DEVELOPMENT
OF MORE WIDESPREAD AND STEADIER RAINS THROUGH THE PERIOD. THE
PRESENCE OF MARGINAL ELEVATED INSTABILITY WILL RESULT IN A SLIGHT
CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. HOWEVER...
SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES APPROACHING 1.5 INCHES AND ON THE
HIGH END OF CLIMATOLOGICAL EXPECTATIONS FOR EARLY MARCH...HEAVY
RAIN WILL BECOME LIKELY TONIGHT AND PERSIST INTO WEDNESDAY
MORNING. THE FOCUS FOR THE HEAVIEST RAIN WILL LIKELY BE IN A
SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST ORIENTED BAND ACROSS WESTERN KENTUCKY AND
FAR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES WILL BE
POSSIBLE BY DAYBREAK WEDNESDAY IN KENTUCKY...WITH A SHARP GRADIENT
TO MUCH LIGHTER AMOUNTS NORTHWEST OF THE OHIO RIVER. WOULD NOT
NORMALLY ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH FOR THIS AMOUNT OF RAIN...BUT THE
RECENT SNOWMELT AND SATURATED GROUND IS A CONCERN. AS A RESULT...
WE PLAN TO ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH FOR MOST OF WESTERN KENTUCKY AND
FAR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI VALID TONIGHT THROUGH NOON WEDNESDAY.

OUR NEXT BLAST OF ARCTIC AIR WILL FOLLOW THE PASSAGE OF A STRONG
COLD FRONT TONIGHT. AS TEMPERATURES FALL LATE TONIGHT AND
WEDNESDAY...LINGERING PRECIPITATION WILL TRANSITION TO SLEET AND
SNOW. THE BIG QUESTION AT THIS POINT IS HOW LONG DOES THE SLEET
CONTINUE BEFORE TRANSITIONING TO SNOW. THE GFS...ECMWF...AND
CANADIAN ARE ALL ON A SIMILAR PAGE IN DEPICTING MORE SNOW AND LESS
SLEET. MEANWHILE...THE NAM IS THE WARMEST IN THE 850-700MB LAYER
AND WOULD SUGGEST HOURS AND HOURS OF SLEET...ESPECIALLY OVER THE
SOUTHERN HALF OF THE AREA. AT THIS POINT...I BELIEVE THE NAM MAY
BE ONTO SOMETHING...BUT IT IS DIFFICULT TO ARGUE AGAINST THE MODEL
CONSENSUS. THEREFORE...WE PLAN TO STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN THE NAM
AND GFS/ECMWF/CANADIAN TO ALLOW SOME WIGGLE ROOM IN THE FORECAST
AS DEVELOPING CONDITIONS WARRANT.

WE CONTINUE TO BASE OUR QPF AND SNOW AMOUNTS ON A BLEND OF MODEL
GUIDANCE AND WPC. AT THIS POINT...OUR SNOW ACCUMULATION GRIDS
RANGE FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES ALONG THE NORTHWESTERN PERIPHERY OF
COUNTIES IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS TO AS MUCH AS 6 TO 8 INCHES IN THE
PENNYRILE REGION OF WESTERN KENTUCKY. BEFORE THE SNOW FALLS...WE
ESTIMATE THAT AS MUCH AS ONE HALF TO ONE INCH OF SLEET MAY
ACCUMULATE BEFORE THE PRECIPITATION CHANGES OVER TO SNOW. THERE IS
SOME POTENTIAL FOR A LIGHT ICE ACCUMULATION EARLY WEDNESDAY...BUT
ANY FREEZING RAIN SHOULD BE SHORT-LIVED.

LINGERING SNOW WILL TAPER OFF FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE BEGINS TO BUILD IN. LOWS BY
THURSDAY MORNING WILL LIKELY RANGE FROM 10 TO 15 DEGREES.

.LONG TERM...(THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY)
ISSUED AT 322 AM CST TUE MAR 3 2015

THE BIG WINTER STORM WILL BE ALL BUT WOUND DOWN BY THE TIME WE
PICK UP THE FORECAST AT 12Z THURSDAY. THE ECMWF IS A LITTLE MORE
REGRESSIVE WITH THE UPPER TROF PASSAGE THAN THE GFS...BUT THE
COLLAB CONSENSUS WAS TO LEAN TOWARD THE GFS HERE AND SO WE'VE
ELIMINATED ALL POPS BY 12Z THURSDAY...EVEN IN THE FARTHEST
SOUTHEASTERN COUNTIES.

AFTER THE UPPER TROF PASSAGE...THE ARCTIC COLD AIRMASS REINFORCES
THE COLD OVER OUR REGION...ON THE STRENGTH OF ABOUT A 1040 MB
SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM THAT SETTLES OVERTOP THE
OHIO/TENNESSEE VALLEYS. HIGHS THURSDAY WILL RANGE THRU THE 20S
WHILE LOWS THURSDAY NIGHT BOTTOM OUT IN THE LOWER SINGLE
DIGITS. THE ONLY CAVEAT MAY BE GOING A LITTLE LOWER GIVEN THE
ANTICIPATED SNOW COVER THAT OCCURS...WE TWEAKED A DEGREE OR TWO
DOWN FROM THE BLEND IN ACCOUNT BUT MAY WANT TO GO MORE LATER...AS
WAS PRUDENT LAST/RECENT SYSTEM.

HIGH PRESSURE MORE OR LESS HOLDS AT THE SURFACE AS THE
PREDOMINANT WEATHER INFLUENCE THRU THE REMAINDER OF THE LONG
TERM...WHILE PRECIPITATING WX SYSTEMS TEND TO MOVE JUST BEYOND OUR
BORDERS. WE'LL KEEP THE FORECAST DRY ACCORDINGLY...AND SEASONALLY
COOL TEMPERATURES IN A BROADLY NW-WLY PREDOMINANT UPPER FLOW
PATTERN THRU THE END OF THE PACKAGE.

&&

.AVIATION...
ISSUED AT 1141 AM CST TUE MAR 3 2015

IFR/LIFR CIGS EXPECTED THROUGH TAF PERIOD. SCT SHRA TODAY WILL
BECOME WIDESPREAD RAIN AFTER 00Z. RAIN WILL SWITCH TO SLEET/POSSIBLY
FREEZING RAIN AROUND 12Z, THEN PRECIPITATION WILL BECOME SNOW AROUND
15Z AT KEVV/KOWB, AND KCGI/KPAH AROUND 18Z. SW WINDS AROUND 10KTS
WILL BECOME NW/N AROUND 03Z WITH THE PASSAGE OF A STRONG COLD
FRONT, BECOMING GUSTY AFTER 12Z. VSBYS WITH FOG, DENSE AT TIMES,
WILL BECOME MAINLY MVFR BY 00Z. MVFR/IFR VSBYS EXPECTED WITH PRECIP.

&&

.PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IL...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY
     NIGHT FOR ILZ075>078-080>094.

MO...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY
     NIGHT FOR MOZ076-086-087-100-107>112-114.

     FLOOD WATCH FROM 6 PM CST THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING
     FOR MOZ112-114.

IN...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY
     NIGHT FOR INZ081-082-085>088.

KY...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY
     NIGHT FOR KYZ001>022.

     FLOOD WATCH FROM 6 PM CST THIS EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING
     FOR KYZ001>013-015>017-019>022.

&&

SHORT TERM...RJP
LONG TERM...DH
AVIATION...RST
Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 3, 4:40 AM CST, 10 hours 11 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
440 AM CST TUE MAR 3 2015

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-041100-
JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON-
WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION IL-JOHNSON-POPE-
HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH-
WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES-
LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL-
UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN-
MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER-
RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-
440 AM CST TUE MAR 3 2015

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST THIS
AFTERNOON AND ESPECIALLY TONIGHT. FOR THIS REASON...A FLOOD WATCH
IS IN EFFECT TONIGHT FOR FAR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AND MUCH OF
WESTERN KENTUCKY...WHERE THE HEAVIEST RAIN IS FORECAST TO FALL.
PLEASE REFER TO THE FLOOD WATCH FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN MAY CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING ACROSS THE
FLOOD WATCH AREA. REFER TO THE WATCH FOR DETAILS.

THE RAIN IS FORECAST TO CHANGE TO SLEET AND EVENTUALLY SNOW WEDNESDAY
INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS MUCH COLDER AIR RUSHES IN BEHIND A STRONG
COLD FRONT. MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATIONS ARE
LIKELY ACROSS THE OUTLOOK AREA. CONSEQUENTLY...A WINTER STORM
WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA WEDNESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. PLEASE REFER TO THE WATCH FOR MORE INFORMATION.

SUB ZERO WIND CHILLS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS NORTH OF ROUTE 13 EARLY THURSDAY MORNING.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS SHOULD REPORT ANY FLOODING ISSUES THAT MAY DEVELOP
TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. SPOTTERS ARE ALSO ENCOURAGED TO REPORT
SNOW...SLEET...AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED IMPACTS
WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

RJP

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 3, 2:16 PM CST, 35 minutes before
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The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 3, 4:24 AM CSTFlood WatchPAHBallard, Caldwell, Calloway, Carlisle, Christian, Crittenden and 14 more32 hr
Mar 3, 1:49 PM CSTRiver Flood WarningPAHMuhlenberg25 days

Nearby

Winter Storm Warnings in Kentucky, 2015Winter Storm Warnings in Illinois, 2015Winter Storm Warnings in Missouri, 2015Every winter storm warning in 2015

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.