Hail, Jefferson
- When
- May 3, 10:30 PM EST to 11:10 PM EST
- Where
- Jefferson County, Louisville to Fisherville
- Measured
- 2.75 in hail
- Property damage
- $20 million
- Coordinates
- 38.230, -85.780
Hail in Kentucky, May 3, 1996
Hail from golf ball to baseball size totaled numerous cars acrossvarious parts of Louisville including Churchill Downs, the International Airport, Highview, Fern Creek, Okolona, Jeffersontown, Camp Taylor and Hikes Point. 3 renta-car lots in the vicinity of the International Airport were totaled.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $20 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS LMK wrote it up.
Hail from golf ball to baseball size totaled numerous cars acrossvarious parts of Louisville including Churchill Downs, the International Airport, Highview, Fern Creek, Okolona, Jeffersontown, Camp Taylor and Hikes Point. 3 renta-car lots in the vicinity of the International Airport were totaled. Baseball size hail at Jeffersontown, Fern Creek, Highview and Camp Taylor accumulated to 8 inches. Accumulations were also substantial along the Gene Snyder Freeway just south of Fern Creek. The hail shift was approximately 5 miles wide and went all the way through the county. Several insurance companies have had over 100 hundred claims due to car and home damage. Most of the home damage was to shingles, siding and windows.
The radar
The Louisville radar (KLVX), 32 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:32 UTC.
Event by event
1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strike in Iowa, May 3, 1996
- Hail in Indiana, May 3, 1996
- Hail in Illinois, May 3, 1996
- Hail in Illinois, May 3, 1996
- Hail in Illinois, May 3, 1996
- Tornado in Indiana, May 3, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Illinois, May 3, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Indiana, May 3, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Kentucky, May 3, 1996
- Heat in Alaska, May 3, 1996
- High Wind in Alaska, May 3 to 6, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Montana, May 3, 1996
More
Every storm in Kentucky in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, May 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5554037.