1 lightning, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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 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 Jan 26, 4:20 PM CST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 420 PM CST MON JAN 26 2004 .SHORT TERM DISCUSSION... MAIN CONCERN FOR THE SHORT-TERM IS THE CHANCE FOR A LIGHT WINTRY MIX TONIGHT...FOLLOWED BY THE INFLUX OF COLDER AIR INTO THE FORECAST AREA ON TUESDAY. LATEST WEATHER MAPS CONTINUE TO INDICATE A NEARLY STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY DRAPED FROM SOUTHERN INDIANA ACROSS WESTERN KENTUCKY INTO WESTERN TENNESSEE. ALONG THIS BOUNDARY...A VERY SHARP TEMPERATURE CONTRAST WAS NOTED...RANGING FROM THE LOWER 40S ALONG THE OHIO RIVER TO THE UPPER 60S NEAR THE TENNESSEE BORDER. TEMPERATURES OVER OUR FAR NORTHERN COUNTIES OF MISSOURI...ILLINOIS...AND INDIANA NEVER DID MAKE IT ABOVE FREEZING. BOTH THE MORNING ETA AND GFS RUNS WERE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT ON THE TIMING OF THE NEXT WEATHER SYSTEM TO IMPACT THE REGION TONIGHT. IN GENERAL...LOW PRESSURE IS FORECAST TO INTENSIFY OVER THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY TONIGHT...EVENTUALLY DRAGGING THE AFOREMENTIONED FRONTAL BOUNDARY EAST OF THE AREA AFTER MIDNIGHT. IN THE UPPER LEVELS...A POTENT UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE WILL APPROACH THE REGION FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS. THE POSITIONING OF THE 500MB SHORTWAVE SUGGESTS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION WOULD FALL JUST NORTH AND NORTHEAST OF THE FORECAST AREA. BUT EVEN HERE...1 OR 2 INCHES IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION. THUS...ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT AND EARLY TUESDAY FOR LOCATIONS ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM PERRYVILLE MISSOURI TO OWENSBORO KENTUCKY. ADDITIONALLY...WITH SURFACE TEMPERATURES ALREADY BELOW FREEZING OVER OUR NORTHERN COUNTIES...THE PRECIPITATION COULD BEGIN AS LIGHT FREEZING RAIN THIS EVENING. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE THAT AS THE COLDER AIR WORKS INTO THE AREA...SOME SLEET IS ALSO POSSIBLE BEFORE THE PRECIPITATION CHANGES TO ALL SNOW FROM WEST TO EAST. ON TUESDAY...SNOW SHOWERS WILL GRADUALLY TAPER OFF FROM WEST TO EAST AS THE STORM SYSTEM DEPARTS. WITH AMPLE CLOUDINESS AND STIFF NORTHWEST WINDS...TEMPERATURES WILL STRUGGLE TO MOVE MUCH. THUS... HIGHS WILL LIKELY REMAIN IN THE 20S FOR MOST OF THE AREA. MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE A CLEARING TREND LATE TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. IF THERE IS ANY SNOW ON THE GROUND IN OUR NORTHERN COUNTIES... TEMPERATURES COULD REALLY DROP BELOW GUIDANCE VALUES. HOWEVER...WILL NOT GET TOO BOLD AT THIS TIME. REGARDING TEMPERATURES...THE MESOETA 2-METER TEMPERATURES SEEM TO HAVE THE BEST HANDLE ON THE SHARP TEMPERATURE CONTRAST AND INFLUX OF MUCH COLDER AIR TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. HEDGED TOWARD THE SOMEWHAT COOLER MAV GUIDANCE FOR TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. .LONG TERM DISCUSSION... BUBBLE HIGH PRESSURE WILL ASSUME CONTROL WEDNESDAY...BRINGING DRIER AND SOMEWHAT CHILLY CONDITIONS. THE NEXT IN A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL TROUGHS WILL THEN SWING IN DURING THE DAY THU. LOWER LVL 1000-850 MB THICKNESSES AND GFS SOUNDING PROFILES SUGGEST MOSTLY LIQUID WITH THIS NEXT SYSTEM...THROUGH CANNOT RULE OUT A BIT OF SNOW OR SLEET IF THE PRECIP CAN GET GOING EARLY THU MORNING. MAY ALSO BE A BRIEF CHANGE OVER TO SOME LIGHT SNOW OR FLURRIES AS THE PRECIP COMES TO AN END THU NIGHT...BUT ALL IN ALL...THIS SYSTEM LOOKS TOO WARM IN THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE FOR ANY MAJOR PROBLEMS TO DEVELOP...AND PRECIP AMOUNTS LOOK TO BE ON THE LIGHT SIDE. COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH BY 12Z FRI...BRINGING ANOTHER SHOT OF DRIER AIR FOR FRI/FRI NIGHT. HIGH PRESSURE ON FRI WILL COME IN FROM THE WEST AS OPPOSED TO THE NORTHWEST...SO TEMPS FRI MAY ACTUALLY BE WARMER THAN THOSE ON THU. CONFIDENCE LEVEL IS QUITE LOW WITH THE FORECAST INTO NEXT WEEKEND. GFS NOW HAS FRONT FROM FRIDAY MOVING WELL SOUTH OF THE AREA. LATEST ECMWF TENDS TO BE A BIT SLOWER...BUT ALSO PULLS IT THROUGH. RIDGING OVER THE REGION ON SATURDAY SHOULD KEEP US DRY WITH CLOUDS INCREASING ON THE LEADING EDGE OF NEXT SHORT WAVE. GFS ENSEMBLE MEANS SUPPORT FRONT MOVING THROUGH ON SUNDAY AND WILL GO WITH THAT SOLUTION. MEANWHILE...THE ECMWF IS MUCH STRONGER WITH RIDGING ON SATURDAY AND HOLDS OFF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE FOR SEVERAL DAYS. TIMING/TEMPERATURES MAY BE CRITICAL FOR PRECIPITATION TYPE. RIGHT NOW WILL GO WITH ABOVE FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND AN ALL RAIN SCENARIO DUE TO VARIATIONS OF TIMING AND STRENGTH WITH ENSEMBLES. MINOR ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO MEX TEMPERATURE GUIDANCE. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH 1000 AM TUESDAY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM MORGANFIELD TO OWENSBORO. MO...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH 1000 AM TUESDAY FOR PERRY COUNTY. IL...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH 1000 AM TUESDAY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM MURPHYSBORO TO SHAWNEETOWN. IN...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH 1000 AM TUESDAY FOR ALL COUNTIES. && RJP/GM/PS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 345 PM CST MON JAN 26 2004 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-100- 107>112-114-271100- 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- 345 PM CST MON JAN 26 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA AND WESTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT TONIGHT...A RAIN...FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW MIXTURE WILL CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW LATER THIS EVENING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TONIGHT WILL RANGE FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES...GENERALLY NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM PERRYVILLE MISSOURI TO HARRISBURG ILLINOIS TO OWENSBORO KENTUCKY. PLEASE REFER TO OUR WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY PRODUCT /SDFWSWPAH/ FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THIS WINTER WEATHER EVENT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY SNOW WILL END FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST ON TUESDAY WITH LITTLE ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED...BUT ANY REPORTS OF SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 40 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:28 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning bolt struck a house, blowing a six-foot hole in the wall and starting a fire. The house was extensively damaged. A neighboring house caught fire, but it was not significantly damaged.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, January 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: 5381257.