A supercell thunderstorm moved east-southeast across southern Jackson, southern Williamson, and southern Saline Counties. Torrential downpours resulted in isolated flash flooding.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 supercell thunderstorm moved east-southeast across southern Jackson, southern Williamson, and southern Saline Counties. Torrential downpours resulted in isolated flash flooding.
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 Oct 18, 2:40 AM CST, 15 hours 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 340 AM CDT MON OCT 18 2004 .DISCUSSION... WILL NEED TO BE AS BRIEF AS POSSIBLE DUE TO ONGOING WEATHER SITUATION. MAIN FORECAST CONCERNS LIE WITH PRECIP CHANCES...SVR WEATHER CHANCES AND TEMPERATURES NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. MODELS IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT IN THE SHORT TERM WITH SFC FEATURES. WARM FRONT WILL CONTINUE LIFTING NORTH ACROSS THE REGION TODAY AS SFC LOW PRESSURE MOVES EAST INTO EAST CENTRAL MO. MAIN FOCUS OF SHOWERS AND STORMS EARLY TODAY WILL BE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE FRONT...ESP ACROSS SW IN AND SOUTHEAST IL. COULD BE SOME ISOLD SVR STORMS TODAY...BUT REALLY THINK THE BEST CHC OF ORGANIZED SVR STORMS WILL COME THIS EVENING AND OVERNIGHT. STORMS SHOULD DEVELOP ALONG THE SFC COLD FRONT/DRY LINE OUT IN SE MO AND CNTRL ARKANSAS LATER THIS AFTERNOON. AS PER SPC DISCO...THESE STORMS MAY ACTUALLY FORM AN MCS TYPE SYSTEM OVERNIGHT AS THEY MOVE EAST INTO WRN KY AND SW IN. SFC FRONT WILL LIKELY HANG UP ALONG THE OHIO RIVER TONIGHT AND TUESDAY...WITH AN ADDITIONAL THREAT OF SEVERE STORMS OVER WRN KY LATER TUE AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EVENING..ESP IF WE GET GOOD HEATING DURING THE FIRST PART OF THE AFTERNOON. UPPER FORCING IS NOT GREAT...BUT STRONG INSTABILITY...LIFT FROM SFC FRONT AND MOISTURE AXIS AHEAD OF FRONT SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO POP AFTERNOON STORMS SOUTH OF THE SFC BOUNDARY. FOR WED...MODELS DIVERGE GREATLY WITH GFS PUSHING THE SFC FRONT SOUTH INTO THE NORTHERN GULF STATES...WHILE THE ETA HANGS THE FRONT OVER OUR AREA. WITH NEARLY ZONAL FLOW ALOFT...REALLY THINK THE ETA SOLN LOOKS BEST...BUT THE GFS HAS BEEN REALLY GOOD WITH THE SOUTHWARD PROGRESSION OF FRONTS FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS...SO WILL GO WITH A COMPROMISE HERE AND TAKE THE FRONT INTO TN. THIS SCENARIO WOULD DRY US OUT A BIT IN THE WED/THU TIME FRAME. WILL NOT MAKE MUCH CHANGE AFTER THAT TO THE EXTENDED...BUT IF NEW GFS IS CORRECT...THE NEXT FRONTAL PASSAGE WILL BE FRI NIGHT/SAT MORNING. UPPER FORCING AND MOISTURE RETURN SUGGEST SQUALL LINE WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS FRONT. AS FAR AS TEMPS ARE CONCERNED...WILL GO ABOVE NGM/MAV MOS NUMBERS TONIGHT DUE TO SOUTHERLY FLOW AND CLOUDS. WILL GO CLOSER ETA MOS. WILL ALSO SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ETA AND MAV MOS TEMPS ON WED TIME FRAME DUE TO UNCERTAINTY OF SFC FRONTAL POSITION. MODELS ARE ABOUT 10 DEGREES DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && MEFFERT
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 436 AM CDT MON OCT 18 2004 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-100- 107>112-114-191000- 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...CAPE GIRARDEAU MO...CARBONDALE IL... GREENVILLE MO...HARRISBURG IL...HENDERSON KY...HOPKINSVILLE KY... MAYFIELD KY...MOUNT VERNON IL...MURRAY KY...NEW MADRID MO... OWENSBORO KY...PADUCAH KY...PETERSBURG IN... POPLAR BLUFF MO AND PRINCETON IN 436 AM CDT MON OCT 18 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND WESTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS...ESPECIALLY LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE MAIN HAZARDS WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WIND GUSTS. HOWEVER...ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE. THIS FORECAST WILL BE HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON THE EVOLUTION OF STORMS THIS AFTERNOON OVER MISSOURI AND ARKANSAS...EAST OF A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT. HEAVY RAINFALL AND THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING WILL BECOME MORE LIKELY WITH EACH ROUND OF STORMS IN A GIVEN AREA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND TUESDAY EVENING OVER WESTERN KENTUCKY...WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE MAIN HAZARD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY...TONIGHT...AND AGAIN ON TUESDAY.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
552 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0540 PM HAIL PATTON JUNCTION 37.46N 90.03W
10/18/2004 1.00 INCH BOLLINGER MO EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
DLLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
554 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0545 PM HAIL 4 N PATTON JUNCTION 37.52N 90.03W
10/18/2004 2.50 INCH BOLLINGER MO EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
DLLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
610 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0551 PM TORNADO 5 NNW SEDGEWICKVILLE 37.58N 89.94W
10/18/2004 BOLLINGER MO TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
DLLSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 612 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004 KYZ001-182330- FULTON KY- 612 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004 ...TORNADO WARNING FOR FULTON COUNTY KENTUCKY HAS BEEN CANCELLED... THE TORNADO WARNING THAT WAS ISSUED FOR FULTON COUNTY KENTUCKY UNTIL 700 PM CDT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. THE WARNING WAS SENT OUT IN ERROR. WE REGRET ANY INCONVENIENCE OR CONFUSION. JAP
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
703 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0655 PM HAIL 4 SW CAPE GIRARDEAU 37.27N 89.60W
10/18/2004 1.75 INCH CAPE GIRARDEAU MO EMERGENCY MNGR
&&
DLLPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
704 PM CDT MON OCT 18 2004
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION...ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0656 PM FUNNEL CLOUD POWE 36.66N 90.10W
10/18/2004 STODDARD MO LAW ENFORCEMENT
&&
DLLThe Paducah radar (KPAH), 96 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:05 UTC.
3 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Major street flooding occurred in downtown Carbondale. The most serious flooding was on the Southern Illinois University campus, where a car was submerged in floodwaters.
A few inches of water covered a road in front of the Wal-Mart store.
Street flooding occurred in Benton, which was particularly bad on East Main Street. Floodwaters entered the sheriff's department building and jail. About a mile south of Sesser on Route 148, a car was submerged in floodwaters.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, October 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: 5424205, 5424208, 5424207, 5424206.