Hail and Damaging Wind in Kentucky, March 15, 2002

Name: Hail and Damaging Wind in Kentucky, March 15, 2002
Start: 2002-03-15T19:42
End: 2002-03-15T20:55
Location: Kentucky

March 15, 2002 · NWS ILN · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $15,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 15, 5:21 PM EST, 2 hours 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 15, 5:21 PM EST, 2 hours 21 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
521 PM EST FRI MAR 15 2002

WILL SEND UPDATE FOR NORTHERN GROUPS TO ADD POSSIBILITY OF THUNDER.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION:

PCPN WITH LIGHTNING CONTINUES ALONG FRONT WITH SOME DEVELOPMENT
ASSOCIATED WITH WAVE MOVING UP FROM SOUTH ALONG FRONT.  WILL KEEP
POPS SAME FOR ALL ZONES.  LOW TO MID LEVEL OMEGA FIELD SHOWS GOOD
LIFT IN CVG AND PMH ZONES SO WILL KEEP MENTION OF HEAVY RAIN THERE.
WAVE SHOULD SLOW SOUTHWARD PROGRESSION OF FRONT SO WILL STICK CLOSE
TO FWC TEMPS.  WILL KEEP THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE IN SOUTH TIL AROUND
7Z ALTHOUGH INSTABILITY REALLY DROPS OFF.  RAIN SHOULD END IN PMH BY
MID DAY SATURDAY.

CLOUDS SHOULD HANG AROUND IN THE SOUTHERN FCST AREA SATURDAY WITH A
GRADUAL CLEARING OF LOW CLOUDS IN THE AFTERNOON ELSEWHERE.  TEMPS
ARE BELOW FREEZING ON FWC SATURDAY NIGHT.  CLOUDS INCREASE AROUND
10Z SUNDAY AS ANOTHER WEAK LOW APPROACHES FROM SOUTH.  THINKING THAT
TEMPS WILL REMAIN AT LEAST SLIGHTLY ABOVE FREEZING AND ELEVATED WARM
LAYER IS SUBSTANTIAL ENOUGH TO MELT ANY FREEZING PCPN.

.ILN...NONE.

CENTER/FRANKS

The radar

The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 100 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:41 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Mason

When: March 15, 7:42 PM EST to 7:44 PM EST
Where: Mason County, Mays Lick
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.517, -83.833

Thunderstorm Wind, Boone

When: March 15, 8:50 PM EST to 8:55 PM EST
Where: Boone County, Walton
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 38.867, -84.600

Several trees were blown down. A barn and a house were damaged. Two mobile homes at the Speedway were damaged.

What these are

Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Kentucky in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Kentucky, March 2002

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: 5286977, 5286978.