A tornadic thunderstorm moved east across Franklin County. A long-lived rotating wall cloud was associated with the storm.
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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.
The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.
A tornadic thunderstorm moved east across Franklin County. A long-lived rotating wall cloud was associated with the storm. A brief tornado was spawned, but all of the tree damage was associated with straight-line winds.
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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 25, 1:25 PM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 225 PM CDT TUE MAY 25 2004 THUNDERSTORMS HAD REDEVELOPED NORTHWEST OF THE FA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. AIRMASS OVER OUR REGION HAD DESTABILIZED AS INDICATED BY LAPS LI VALUES OF MINUS 5 TO MINUS 9...SO ANY STORMS THAT DEVELOP OR MOVE INTO OUR REGION WILL HAVE AN ENVIRONMENT SUPPORTIVE OF A SEVERE THREAT. GIVEN THIS...ALONG WITH SOUTHWARD SAGGING SURFACE FRONT AND OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES FROM ONGOING CONVECTION... EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO MOVE INTO AND INCREASE ACROSS THE NORTHERN PART OF OUR FA THIS EVENING AND OVER THE REST OF THE FA MAINLY WEDNESDAY. AS A RESULT...WILL KEEP POPS HIGHER THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE SURFACE FRONT IS EXPECTED TO WEAKEN OR DIMINISH AS IT SAGS SLOWLY SOUTH IN THE WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. THIS ALONG WITH SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING TO OUR NORTH SHOULD BRING A DECREASING TREND TO THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY BEGINNING WEDNESDAY NIGHT. HOWEVER THE LIMITED INFLUX OF DRIER/MORE STABLE AIR ALONG WITH THE WASHING OUT OF THE FRONT AS EVIDENCED BY REDEVELOPMENT OF A BROADSCALE SOUTHERLY FLOW BY MIDDAY THURSDAY WILL LEND TO A CONTINUED CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK. THE SEVERE WEATHER THREAT (SLIGHT RISK) REMAINS IN TACT THROUGH DAY 3/FRIDAY GIVEN THE PERSISTENT INSTABILITY. BY FRIDAY...ETA LIFTED INDICES ARE AT A MINIMUM THROUGH THE CURRENT MODEL RUN. HAVE UPPED DEWPOINTS AND LOW TEMPS A BIT THE NEXT COUPLE OF NIGHTS GIVEN LESSER SOUTHWARD PROGRESS OF DRIER AIR. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && SHANKLIN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 345 PM CDT TUE MAY 25 2004 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-100- 107>112-114-261000- ALEXANDER IL-BALLARD KY-BOLLINGER MO-BUTLER MO-CALDWELL KY- CALLOWAY KY-CAPE GIRARDEAU MO-CARLISLE KY-CARTER MO-CHRISTIAN KY- CRITTENDEN KY-DAVIESS KY-EDWARDS IL-FRANKLIN IL-FULTON KY- GALLATIN IL-GIBSON IN-GRAVES KY-HAMILTON IL-HARDIN IL-HENDERSON KY- HICKMAN KY-HOPKINS KY-JACKSON IL-JEFFERSON IL-JOHNSON IL- LIVINGSTON KY-LYON KY-MARSHALL KY-MASSAC IL-MCCRACKEN KY-MCLEAN KY- MISSISSIPPI MO-MUHLENBERG KY-NEW MADRID MO-PERRY MO-PERRY IL-PIKE IN- POPE IL-POSEY IN-PULASKI IL-RIPLEY MO-SALINE IL-SCOTT MO-SPENCER IN- STODDARD MO-TODD KY-TRIGG KY-UNION KY-UNION IL-VANDERBURGH IN- WABASH IL-WARRICK IN-WAYNE MO-WAYNE IL-WEBSTER KY-WHITE IL- WILLIAMSON IL- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SIKESTON...POPLAR BLUFF...PERRYVILLE... CAPE GIRARDEAU...PADUCAH...OWENSBORO...MURRAY...MAYFIELD... MADISONVILLE...HOPKINSVILLE...HENDERSON...EVANSVILLE...HERRIN... HARRISBURG...CARMI...CARBONDALE AND CAIRO 345 PM CDT TUE MAY 25 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND WESTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH TONIGHT OVER THE GREEN RIVER REGION OF WESTERN KENTUCKY...INCLUDING HENDERSON...OWENSBORO AND CALHOUN. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT ACROSS THE ENTIRE QUAD STATE REGION. EXPECT THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP AND MOVE SOUTHEAST INTO THE REGION THIS EVENING WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LARGE HAIL LIKELY WITH SOME OF THE STORMS. HEAVY RAINFALL WILL ALSO BE A THREAT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY THERE IS A RISK FOR THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY BE SEVERE...ESPECIALLY FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. IN ADDITION...HEAVY RAIN IS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED THIS EVENING AND MAY BE REQUESTED AT LATER TIMES AS WELL. SHANKLIN
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 125 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:27 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
A large tree was blown down, and large limbs fell on a carport.
Several large trees were uprooted near Rend Lake, south of Route 154 near a golf course. Trees and power lines were down near Yellow Banks Road.
A brief tornado touchdown was observed. No damage was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Illinois, 2004Warnings in Illinois, May 2004
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: 5397766, 5397763, 5397765, 5397764.