The remnants of what once was Tropical Storm Fay moved north from Florida, spreading showers and a few thunderstorms across Eastern Kentucky on August 26th and 27th. A slow moving thunderstorm with heavy rainfall caused flash flooding during the evening hours of August 27th in Letcher County.
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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 JKL wrote it up.
The remnants of what once was Tropical Storm Fay moved north from Florida, spreading showers and a few thunderstorms across Eastern Kentucky on August 26th and 27th. A slow moving thunderstorm with heavy rainfall caused flash flooding during the evening hours of August 27th in Letcher County.
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 Jackson, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 27, 7:05 PM EST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 805 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2008 .SHORT TERM.../TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT/ THE MAIN FOCUS FOR THE SHORT TERM WILL DEAL WITH ESCORTING THE REMNANTS OF FAY OUT OF THE REGION AND THE ARRIVAL OF A WEAK COLD FRONT LATE IN THE PERIOD. CURRENT RADAR IMAGERY SHOWS A FEW CLUSTERS OF LIGHT SHOWERS AND DRIZZLE MOVING TO THE NORTHEAST WITH THE DISORGANIZED CENTER OF THE SYSTEM SOMEWHERE NEAR THE TN/VA/KY BORDERS. EXPECT LINGERING SHOWERS TO CONTINUE IN THE EASTERN PART OF THE CWA OVERNIGHT AS THE LOW SLOWLY SLIDES UP THE SPINE OF THE APPALACHIANS. HAVE GONE DRY AFTER 00Z IN THE WESTERN COUPLE OF TIERS OF THE CWA. CANNOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR TWO WITH WRAP AROUND PRECIP...HOWEVER COVERAGE SHOULD BE LESS THAN ENOUGH TO WARRANT A SLIGHT CHANCE POP. WILL KEEP PLENTY OF LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AROUND THIS EVENING...ALLOWING FOR PATCHY FOG TO HANG AROUND DESPITE CLOUD COVER REMAINING PRETTY HEAVY. SHOULD CLEARING DEVELOP A LITTLE EARLIER TONIGHT...MORE WIDESPREAD FOG WILL BE A POSSIBILITY... ESPECIALLY IN THE WESTERN CWA. AS WE HEAD INTO THURSDAY...A FEW SHOWERS MAY LINGER IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN NEAR THE WV/VA BORDERS AS PLENTY OF MOISTURE LINGERS IN THE AREA. OVERALL...THURSDAY WILL BE THE NICEST DAY OF THE SHORT TERM... WITH TEMPERATURES WARMING UP TO THE MIDDLE 80S UNDER PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES. FRIDAY BRINGS THE APPROACH OF A WEAK COLD FRONT INTO THE AREA...IF YOU BUY INTO THE FASTER GFS WHICH HAS BEEN THE MOST CONSISTENT AND THE PREFERRED MODEL OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF FORECAST CYCLES. MAY HAVE TO WATCH FOR A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING AS HIGH TD/S AND STEEPENING LAPSE RATES WITH A PRE-FRONTAL TROUGH WILL ALLOW FOR SOME DESCENT INSTABILITY. THE SREF SEEMS TO BUY INTO THE POSSIBILITY WITH AROUND 1000 J/KG OF CAPE AHEAD OF THE FRONT LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING. FOR NOW...WILL MAINTAIN 30 POPS FOR THE HEIGHT OF THE EVENT FRIDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING WITH CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION TAPERING OFF RAPIDLY AND HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE REGION AS WE HEAD INTO THE WEEKEND. WILL MENTION THAT THIS PORTION OF THE FORECAST RELIED HEAVILY ON THE GFS SOLUTION DUE TO ITS CONSISTENCY OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS...SHOULD THE MODEL TREND SLOWER AND WEAKER WITH THE FRONT...MANY CHANGES WILL BE NECESSARY. AS FOR TEMPERATURES...DID NOT MAKE MANY CHANGES TO THE PREVIOUS FORECAST. HAVE RAISED TEMPERATURES SLIGHTLY TONIGHT TO ACCOUNT FOR SKY COVER STICKING AROUND A LITTLE LONGER. ALSO...HAVE LOWERED HIGH TEMPERATURES ON FRIDAY...TO ACCOUNT FOR FASTER ARRIVAL OF THE FRONT. .LONG TERM.../SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/ THE WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY AFFECTING THE AREA LATE THIS WEEK WILL HAVE PASSED BY THE START OF THE WEEKEND. 12Z GFS IS EVEN STRONGER WITH THE HIGH PRESS BUILDING IN FOR THE WEEKEND AND HENCE HAVE PULLED ALL BUT A SLGHT CHC POP FOR THE FAR SERN COUNTIES. MAY EVEN NEED TO PULL THIS POP BUT WILL LOOK AT ADDITIONAL DATA BEFORE MAKING THAT DECISION. WILL KEEP SUNDAY AND MONDAY DRY AS WELL SINCE THIS TIME PERIOD WILL BE STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY THE STRENGTH OF THE BUILDING HIGH PRESSURE. BY LATE TUE THE HIGH HAS SLID TO THE ATLANTIC COAST AS ANOTHER FRONTAL SYSTEM IS SET TO CROSS THE MISS RIVER. THE HIGH IS SUPPRESSED TO THE SERN ATLANTIC COAST AS THE PARENT LOW TRACKS THRU ERN CANADA AND THE FRONTAL BNDRY BECOMES QUITE SLUGGISH AND LOOKS TO BECOME STALLED JUST NORTH OF THE OHIO RIVER. THE ECMWF IS MUCH SLOWER WITH THIS SYSTEM AND MAY HAVE TO DELAY ANY POP IF THIS MODEL PREVAILS. AS FAR AS TEMPERATURES GO...HAVE CONTINUED TO GO BELOW GUIDANCE VALUES FOR MUCH OF THE EXTENDED. THIS IS BASED ON SIGNIFICANT SKY COVER WITH THE FRONT THAT MOVES THROUGH. SHOULD THE GFS SOLUTION NOT PAN OUT...SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES TO DAYTIME HIGHS AND LOWER MIN T/S WILL BE NECESSARY AS SKY COVER WILL NOT BE AS GREAT. && .AVIATION.../00Z TO 24Z/...UPDATED POCKETS OF DRIZZLE AND SOME SHOWERS ARE SWIRLING THROUGH EAST KENTUCKY THIS EVENING...WITH MORE SUBSTANTIAL SHOWERS AND EVEN A POTENTIAL FOR A THUNDERSTORM CLOSER TO THE VIRGINIA BORDER. COMPOUNDING THE CONCERNS FOR AVIATION TONIGHT WILL BE THE CURRENT LOW CEILINGS AND THE POSSIBILITY FOR THEM DESCENDING FURTHER OVERNIGHT LEADING TO IFR AND/OR LIFR CIG AND VSBY RESTRICTIONS. HAVE ACCOUNTED FOR THIS POTENTIAL IN THE GRIDS AND TAFS ALONG WITH ADDING A TEMPO FOR CONDITIONS ON THE VERGE OF VLIFR. DO EXPECT THE CONDITIONS TO GRADUALLY IMPROVE DURING THE MORNING THURSDAY EVENTUALLY GIVING WAY TO VFR CONDITIONS BY EARLY AFTERNOON. WINDS INITIALLY WILL BE FROM THE NORTH AT AROUND 5 KTS...THOUGH THEY ARE EXPECTED TO GO NEARLY CALM TOWARDS MIDNIGHT AND STAY LIGHT AND VARIABLE THROUGH THE DAY THURSDAY. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...SCHOETTMER LONG TERM....DUSTY AVIATION...GREIF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 254 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2008 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-282200- FLEMING-MONTGOMERY-BATH-ROWAN-ESTILL-POWELL-MENIFEE-ROCKCASTLE- JACKSON-PULASKI-LAUREL-WAYNE-MCCREARY-WHITLEY-KNOX-BELL-HARLAN- ELLIOTT-MORGAN-JOHNSON-WOLFE-MAGOFFIN-FLOYD-LEE-BREATHITT-KNOTT- OWSLEY-PERRY-CLAY-LESLIE-LETCHER-MARTIN-PIKE- 254 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT AS A WEAK COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. SCHOETTMER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 750 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2008 KYZ118-120-280100- PIKE-LETCHER- 750 PM EDT WED AUG 27 2008 ...A SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT SOUTHWESTERN PIKE AND NORTHEASTERN LETCHER COUNTIES THROUGH 900 PM EDT WEDNESDAY EVENING... AT 750 PM EDT...A SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR PAYNE GAP...MOVING NORTHEAST AT 7 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR JENKINS AROUND 755 PM EDT...GASKILL AROUND 805 PM EDT...BURDINE AROUND 815 PM EDT...BEEFHIDE AROUND 820 PM EDT...AND ADAMSON AROUND 825 PM EDT. RESIDENTS SHOULD EXPECT VERY HEAVY RAIN...WITH RAINFALL RATES BETWEEN ONE AND TWO INCHES PER HOUR IN THESE AREAS. THE HEAVY RAIN WILL LIKELY CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON AREA ROADWAYS. MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO DRIVE CAREFULLY. GREIF
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:31 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
High water was blocking Highways 805 and 317 in northeast Letcher County in the Neon Junction and Haymond areas.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, August 2008
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: 122689.