Thunderstorms developed well ahead of an approaching cold front on July 12th. One of these storms became severe, producing damaging winds in Fleming 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.
Thunderstorms developed well ahead of an approaching cold front on July 12th. One of these storms became severe, producing damaging winds in Fleming 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 Jul 12, 9:10 AM EST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 1010 AM EDT SAT JUL 12 2008 .SHORT TERM.../THE REST OF TODAY/...UPDATED UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE WELL AHEAD OF DEVELOPING PLAINS SYSTEM IS KICKING OFF A BROKEN LINE OF SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS CNTRL KY THIS MORNING. GOES SOUNDING DATA INDICATES ENOUGH INSTABILITY IN PLACE ACROSS THE AREA FOR ACTIVITY TO CONTINUE. IN ADDITION...RTMA AND NAM12 SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS ACTIVITY DEVELOPING ALONG AN AREA OF CONVERGENCE THAT IS ORIENTED NORTH AND SOUTH ACROSS THE CNTRL PORTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH WHICH IS ACTING AS THE TRIGGER. THIS NARROW LINE OF CONVERGENCE WILL SHIFT EASTWARD INTO THE AFTERNOON HOURS BEFORE DISSIPATING...PROBABLY REACHING AS FAR AS THE INTERSTATE 75 CORRIDOR. FOR THE UPDATE THIS MORNING INCREASED POPS ACROSS THE BOARD...WITH CHANCE IN THE WEST FOR ONGOING AND DEVELOPING THUNDERSTORMS...AND SLIGHT POPS IN THE EAST TO ACCOUNT FOR THE POTENTIAL OF ANY OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES KICKING OFF ANYTHING THERE. ALSO MADE SOME SLIGHT ADJUSTMENTS TO TEMPS TO ACCOUNT FOR ADDITIONAL CLOUD COVER. WHILE BAND IS NARROW...DEBRIS COULD HAMPER TEMPS SLIGHTLY. UPDATED PRODUCTS OUT SHORTLY. THE PREVIOUS SHORT TERM FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... /TODAY THROUGH MONDAY/ HIGH PRESSURE CURRENTLY CENTERED ACROSS THE APPALACHIANS WILL PROVIDE ANOTHER DRY AND WARM DAY FOR MOST. TEMPERATURES WILL START OUT SEVERALS DEGREES WARMER IN MANY LOCATIONS...ALLOWING FOR HIGHS TOPPING OUT AROUND THE 90 DEGREE MARK. MOISTURE WILL BE ON THE INCREASE FROM THE WEST THIS AFTERNOON...WITH PERHAPS ENOUGH TO ALLOW FOR AN ISOLATED STORM OR TWO GENERALLY ALONG AND WEST OF A FLEMINGSBURG TO SOMERSET LINE. A COLD FRONT CURRENTLY ALIGNED FROM WESTERN WISCONSIN DOWN THROUGH WESTERN KANSAS WILL MAKE GOOD PROGRESS TODAY AS A VIGOROUS SHORT WAVE TROUGH SWINGS THROUGH THE NORTHERN PLAINS AND THE GREAT LAKES. PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL BE ON THE INCREASE LATE TONIGHT FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST AS THE COLD FRONT APPROACHES. MODEL TIME HEIGHTS SHOW ONLY WEAK FORCING AVAILABLE...HOWEVER WITH GOOD LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IN PLACE AND LIKELY COMPLEXES OF STORMS UPSTREAM...IT WOULD NOT TAKE MUCH TO GET AT LEAST SOME SCATTERED ACTIVITY GOING. BEST CHANCE WILL ARRIVE DURING THE DAY ON SUNDAY AND INTO SUNDAY EVENING AS THE COLD FRONT CROSSES KENTUCKY. INCREASED POPS TO CATEGORICAL ACROSS THE BOARD WITH A SATURATED COLUMN AND FORCING FROM THE FRONT. MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENTLY SHOWING PWATS EXCEEDING 2 INCHES FROM EARLY SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON. ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING WILL BE THE BIGGEST CONCERN WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS...ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT ENTIRELY OUT OF THE QUESTION TO GET SOME WET MICRO-BURSTS WITH ENOUGH STORM TO STORM INTERACTION. ADDITIONALLY...ANY OF THE MORE INTENSE STORMS WILL CONTAIN A LOT OF LIGHTNING. CONVECTION WILL LINGER IN SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY EARLY SUNDAY EVENING...BEFORE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FROM THE NORTHWEST...BRINGING COOLER AND DRIER WEATHER FOR MONDAY. FOR TEMPERATURES...USED A BLEND OF PERSISTENCE AND AN ENSEMBLE OF THE LATEST MOS GUIDANCE. .LONG TERM.../MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/ UNEVENTFUL EXTENDED PACKAGE AS HIGH PRESSURE DOMINATES. WEATHER LOOKS DRY THROUGH THE ENTIRE PERIOD...DEFINITELY MORE TYPICAL OF A SUMMERTIME PATTERN. FOR TEMPERATURES...A NORTHERLY FLOW PATTERN SHOULD KEEP THE WEATHER RELATIVELY COOL AT FIRST. TEMPERATURES CLIMB QUICKLY DURING THE LATTER HALF OF THE EXTENDED AS HIGH PRESSURE SHIFTS TO THE EAST AND SOUTHERLY FLOW ONCE AGAIN RETURNS TO THE AREA. OVER THE HORIZON...NEXT COLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY DOES NOT ENTER THE PICTURE UNTIL THE WEEKEND. && .AVIATION.../12Z TO 12Z/ STILL EXPECTING VFR CONDITIONS THROUGH END OF TAF PERIOD AT ALL THREE TAF SITES. WITH MOISTURE ON THE INCREASE DURING THE DAY TODAY...MIDDLE AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUD COVER WILL EVENTUALLY OVERSPREAD THE AREA BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON. CIGS WILL REMAIN AT 20 TO 25K UNTIL AFTER 1Z TONIGHT...AT WHICH TIME A BROKEN DECK OF CLOUDS AT 5-6K WILL MOVE IN FROM THE WEST AHEAD AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT AND PREFRONTAL TROUGH. PRECIPITATION SHOULD HOLD OFF UNTIL SUNDAY MORNING...WITH THE BEST CHANCE FOR SHOWERS COMING SUNDAY AFTERNOON AS THE COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. HEAVY RAINFALL AND LOCALIZED FLOODING WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...GEOGERIAN/RAY LONG TERM....RAY AVIATION...AR
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 1025 AM EDT SAT JUL 12 2008 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-131100- 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- 1025 AM EDT SAT JUL 12 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON. A FEW STORMS COULD BECOME STRONG...PRODUCING FREQUENT LIGHTNING...BRIEF HEAVY DOWNPOURS AND GUSTY WINDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...WITH THE BEST CHANCE OCCURRING DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS ON SUNDAY AS A COLD FRONT PASSES THROUGH THE AREA. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT PASS REPEATEDLY OVER THE SAME LOCATIONS WILL BRING A THREAT OF ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING. ADDITIONALLY...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING WILL OCCUR WITH ANY OF THE MORE INTENSE STORMS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. GEOGERIAN/RAY
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 1244 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2008 KYZ068-079-121715- ROCKCASTLE-PULASKI- 1244 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2008 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT SOUTHWESTERN ROCKCASTLE AND NORTH CENTRAL PULASKI COUNTIES THROUGH 115 PM EDT SATURDAY AFTERNOON... AT 1243 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR EUBANK... MOVING EAST AT 23 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR WOODSTOCK AROUND 105 PM EDT...BANDY AROUND 110 PM EDT...WILLAILLA AROUND 115 PM EDT. RESIDENTS SHOULD EXPECT VERY HEAVY RAIN...WITH RAINFALL RATES BETWEEN ONE AND TWO INCHES PER HOUR...GUSTY WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL IN THESE AREAS. DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM. TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. REMEMBER...IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER THEN LIGHTNING IS CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE A HAZARD. IN ADDITION...THE VERY HEAVY RAIN WILL LIKELY CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON AREA ROADWAYS. MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO DRIVE CAREFULLY. RAY
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 110 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2008 KYZ044-121745- FLEMING- 110 PM EDT SAT JUL 12 2008 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT EASTERN FLEMING COUNTY THROUGH 145 PM EDT SATURDAY AFTERNOON... AT 110 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR HILLSBORO... MOVING EAST AT 26 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR POPLAR PLAINS AROUND 115 PM EDT...GODDARD AROUND 120 PM EDT...PLUMMERS LANDING AROUND 125 PM EDT...MUSES MILLS AROUND 130 PM EDT. RESIDENTS SHOULD EXPECT BRIEF HEAVY RAIN...WITH RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO AN INCH PER HOUR...GUSTY WINDS OF 35 TO 45 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL IN THESE AREAS. DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS THUNDERSTORM. TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. REMEMBER...IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER THEN LIGHTNING IS CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE A HAZARD. IN ADDITION...THE HEAVY RAIN WILL LIKELY CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON AREA ROADWAYS. MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO DRIVE CAREFULLY. RAY
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 82 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:25 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
One large tree was blown down onto 2 vehicles by thunderstorm wind gusts. A large limb was also blown down and a flag pole was bent in half.
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, July 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: 122473.