Numerous thunderstorms on the 5th accompanied a strong storm system that tracked northeast across southeast Missouri and southern Illinois. Heavy rainfall on ground that was already moist from January storms caused flooding of the Ohio River.
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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.
Numerous thunderstorms on the 5th accompanied a strong storm system that tracked northeast across southeast Missouri and southern Illinois. Heavy rainfall on ground that was already moist from January storms caused flooding of the Ohio River.
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 Feb 8, 2:15 AM CST, 11 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 215 AM CST FRI FEB 8 2008 .DISCUSSION... A COUPLE OF WEAK TROUGHS/COLD FRONTS WILL TRAVERSE THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH SUNDAY. EACH WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN INCREASE IN CLOUDINESS...BUT PRECIP CHANCES APPEAR TO BE ONLY SLIGHT WITH EACH ONE. LOTS OF CLEAR SKY INITIALLY THIS MORNING...BUT EXTENSIVE MID TO HIGH CLOUDINESS WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION THIS AFTERNOON. WITH THE PASSAGE OF A 500 MB SHORTWAVE AND ASSOCIATED SURFACE TROUGH TONIGHT...SKIES WILL CLEAR OVERNIGHT. MODERATELY STRONG LOW LEVEL WARM ADVECTION TODAY ON BRISK SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL RESULT IN ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS. GFS MOS GUIDANCE APPEARS REASONABLE BOTH TODAY AND TONIGHT. A STRONGER COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST ON SATURDAY. WARM ADVECTION AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE WILL RAISE TEMPS INTO THE 50S. MOISTURE WILL BE VERY LIMITED WITH THE APPROACHING SYSTEM. ONCE THE FRONT CROSSES THE FORECAST AREA SATURDAY NIGHT...A SURGE OF COLD AIR WILL RETURN TEMPS TO SEASONABLE OR EVEN BELOW NORMAL LEVELS. THERE IS CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOS GUIDANCE AND SREF 2 METER TEMPS. PREFER COLDER 2 METER TEMPS OVER THE CLIMATOLOGICALLY BIASED MOS GUIDANCE AT THIS TIME RANGE. POST FRONTAL 850 MB WINDS HAVE CONSISTENTLY BEEN FORECAST FROM 50 TO 55 KNOTS BY SREF/GFS ENSEMBLES PAST FEW DAYS. EXPECT A PERIOD OF GUSTY WINDS LATE SAT NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING. USED BUFKIT TOOL TO PRODUCE WIND GUST GRIDS...BUT EVEN THE FORECAST GUSTS UP TO AROUND 25 KNOTS MAY NOT BE HIGH ENOUGH. ALTHOUGH NO FORECAST CHANGES WILL BE MADE YET FOR NEXT WEEK...THE 00Z GFS AND 00Z GFS ENSEMBLE MEANS ARE TRENDING STRONGER WITH THE TUESDAY SYSTEM. 00Z GFS STRONGLY HINTS AT THUNDER AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT ON MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY. ANOTHER NOTICEABLE TREND IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SURFACE LOW ALONG THE FRONT TUESDAY NIGHT. 00Z GFS INTENSIFIES THIS LOW AS IT TRACKS OVER WESTERN KY ON WEDNESDAY. IF THESE TRENDS PERSIST...POPS AND QPF WILL NEED TO BE RAISED TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. && .AVIATION... GENERALLY CLEAR SKIES EARLY THIS MORNING WITH PATCHY MVFR VSBYS IN FOG. MID AND UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS WILL INCREASE TODAY...FOLLOWED BY AREAS OF LOWER CLOUDINESS IN THE VFR RANGE THIS EVENING. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO AROUND 10 KNOTS TODAY...THEN SHIFT WEST TONIGHT AS THE SURFACE TROUGH ARRIVES. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && MY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 416 AM CST FRI FEB 8 2008 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-091230- JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON- WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION IL-JOHNSON-POPE- HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH- WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES- LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL- UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN- MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER- RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID- 416 AM CST FRI FEB 8 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT MINOR TO MODERATE FLOODING IS FORECAST OR OCCURRING ON SEVERAL RIVERS...INCLUDING THE GREEN...WABASH...WHITE...AND OHIO RIVERS. FURTHER INFORMATION IS CONTAINED IN FLOOD STATEMENTS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY MINOR TO MODERATE FLOODING OF SOME RIVERS WILL CONTINUE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED. MY
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Minor flooding of the Ohio River occurred. At J.T. Myers Lock and Dam, the river crested at 42.87 feet on the 16th. Flood stage there is 37 feet. Minor flooding of low-lying bottomlands and fields occurred.
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, February 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: 77620.