A weak stationary front located across the area provided the focus for showers and thunderstorms across portions of Eastern Kentucky on July 30th. Some of the storms produced damaging winds.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 JKL wrote it up.
A weak stationary front located across the area provided the focus for showers and thunderstorms across portions of Eastern Kentucky on July 30th. Some of the storms produced damaging winds. One person received minor injuries in Breathitt County when a tree fell on a car.
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 30, 9:45 AM EST, 1 hour 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 1045 AM EDT WED JUL 30 2008 .SHORT TERM.../THE REST OF TODAY/...UPDATED 14Z SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS A QUASI-STATIONARY FRONT SAGGING INTO NORTHWESTERN KENTUCKY IN CONJUNCTION WITH A GENERALLY WEAKENING MCS DRIFTING EAST ALONG THE OHIO RIVER. THE OUTFLOW FROM THESE STORMS ARE STARTING TO REACTIVATE AS IT HEADS INTO EAST KENTUCKY. COMBINED WITH AMPLE MOISTURE...DOLLY...IN PLACE AND MORE ARRIVING...EXPECT NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO OVERSPREAD THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND FURTHER INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER FOR A WET AFTERNOON. AS A RESULT...WILL BE UPDATING THE CURRENT...EXCELLENT LOOKING... GRIDS AND TEXT PRODUCTS TO RAISE POPS AND FINE TUNE TIMING OF THE CONVECTION. WILL ALSO UPDATE THE QPF AND WX GRIDS ALONG WITH ADJUSTING THE TEMPS FOR CURRENT OBS AND TRENDS...LOWERING MAX TEMPS IN THE EARLY PCPN AREAS...MAINLY NORTHWEST. UPDATES TO ALL PRODUCTS WILL BE ISSUED SHORTLY. THE PREVIOUS SHORT TERM FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... /TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/ MCS CURRENTLY TRAVERSING INDIANA AND SKIRTING NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN AS IT MOVES EAST THROUGH DAWN AS IT HAS OUTFLOWED. THIS BOUNDARY MAY SERVE AS A FOCUS FOR CONVECTION LATER TODAY. IT IS CURRENTLY ALIGNED FROM SDF TO SOUTHEAST OF OWB. MOISTURE HAS RETURNED IN FULL FORCE ACROSS EASTERN KENTUCKY...WITH DEWPOINTS IN THE UPPER 60S TO AROUND 70 FOR MOST LOCATIONS. RIDGING WILL BE SUPPRESSED TODAY AS UPPER LEVEL LOW SPIRALS EAST ACROSS SOUTHERN ONTARIO. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL FIRE TODAY AS CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES ARE REACHED AS WELL AS THE POTENTIAL FOR ANY PASSING WEAK SHORT WAVES OR OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES FROM UPSTREAM. LAPSE RATES DO NOT LOOK TO IMPRESSIVE TODAY...SO EXPECT MOST STORMS TO BE BENIGN...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A FEW THAT COULD BE STRONG WITH ANY STORM INTERACTIONS THAT COULD TAKE PLACE. HEAVY RAINERS WILL ALSO BE A CONCERN AND WILL CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT THIS IN THE HWO. A STRUNG OUT COLD FRONT WILL THEN MOVE TOWARDS THE AREA LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY...WITH MCS ACTIVITY INITIATING LATE TONIGHT NEAR THE OHIO RIVER. THIS WILL LIKELY AFFECT EASTERN KENTUCKY LATE TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW. ANYTHING THAT CAN GET ORGANIZED COULD PROVIDE A DAMAGING WIND THREAT...AND ANY TRAINING CELLS WILL CERTAINLY POSE A HEAVY RAIN THREAT ONCE AGAIN. RIDGING WILL THEN BUILD IN BY LATE THURSDAY NIGHT...WITH VERY LITTLE CHANGE IN AIR MASS BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. .LONG TERM.../FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/ GENERALLY LOOKS LIKE A DRY AND HOT PATTERN THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD. RIDGING AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT BEGINS TO BUILD IN FRIDAY AS THE CENTER OF A LARGE H5 HIGH DRIFTS EAST OUT OF THE PLAINS. THE H5 HIGH SHOULD BE CENTERED OVER KENTUCKY EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE HIGH DRIFTS EAST OF THE AREA TUESDAY...AS A COLD FRONT BEGINS TO MAKE ITS WAY SOUTH OUT OF THE GREAT LAKES. WILL KEEP THE ENTIRE PERIOD DRY FOR NOW...SINCE THE FRONT SHOULD STILL BE TOO FAR TO THE NORTH TO BRING ANY PRECIP TO THE AREA. THE TEMPERATURES WILL BE THE MAIN STORY...WITH HIGHS STARTING OUT AROUND 90 ON FRIDAY...AND RISING TO THE MID TO UPPER 90S OVER THE WEEKEND THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. A FEW PLACES COULD APPROACH OR TOP 100 DEGREES. WILL INCLUDE A MENTION OF THE VERY HOT CONDITIONS IN THE HWO. RECORD HIGHS WILL LIKELY BE BROKEN LATER IN THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK IF THE FORECAST PATTERN HOLDS. PREFERRED HPC GUIDANCE TEMPS AS A START...AND MADE SOME ADJUSTMENTS CONSIDERING H8 TEMPS AND H10 TO H8 THICKNESSES. && .AVIATION.../12Z TO 12Z/ THE MVFR MIST IS EXPECTED TO BURN OFF BY 13Z. EXPECT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORM THIS AFTERNOON...HOWEVER WITH THE TIMING IS UNCERTAIN...JUST PUT VCTS IN THE FORECAST. THE WILL BE SOME MVFR RAIN WITH THE HEAVIEST SHOWER DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. THE MOST WIDESPREAD RAIN WILL LIKELY BE LATE WED NIGHT-TUES MORNING ASSOCIATED WITH AN MCS MOVING ACROSS THE AREA. DO NOT HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON THE TIMING...BUT LIKELY WILL BE AFTER 9Z WEDNESDAY. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...GEOGERIAN/GREIF LONG TERM....WJM AVIATION...JJ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 443 AM EDT WED JUL 30 2008 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-311100- 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- 443 AM EDT WED JUL 30 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY...WITH MORE NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED LATE TONIGHT AS A COLD FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTHWEST. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BE STRONG...CONTAINING GUSTY WINDS AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING. ADDITIONALLY...ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT MOVE SLOW...OR PASS REPEATEDLY OVER THE SAME LOCATIONS WILL PROVIDE A THREAT OF LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED DURING THE DAY ON THURSDAY... BEFORE DISSIPATING BY THURSDAY EVENING AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH EASTERN KENTUCKY. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD CONTAIN GUSTY WINDS...AS WELL AS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING. HOT CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO REACH THE MID TO UPPER 90S. THESE TEMPERATURES...COMBINED WITH THE HUMIDITY...WILL RESULT IN HEAT INDICES TOPPING OUT BETWEEN 95 AND 100 ON SATURDAY...AND 100 TO 105 SUNDAY AND MONDAY. TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS IF YOU PLAN ON ANY OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY INSTANCES OF WIND DAMAGE AND FLOODING ON TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY. GEOGERIAN/WJM
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 1143 AM EDT WED JUL 30 2008 KYZ058-059-108-111-301630- POWELL-ESTILL-WOLFE-LEE- 1143 AM EDT WED JUL 30 2008 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT POWELL...WEST CENTRAL WOLFE... ESTILL AND WESTERN LEE COUNTIES THROUGH 1230 PM EDT WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON... AT 1143 AM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR FOX...MOVING EAST AT 30 MPH. RESIDENTS SHOULD EXPECT TORRENTIAL RAIN...WITH RAINFALL RATE OF TWO INCHES PER HOUR OR MORE...GUSTY WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING 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. GREIF
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 60 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:52 UTC.
8 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Two trees were blown down and onto Highway 89 North.
A tree was blown down on Route 1057 near Big Hardwicks Creek Road.
Two trees were blown down on Highway 2017 close to the Breathitt County line.
A tree was blown down and onto a car resulting in minor injuries to the passenger.
Trees were blown down near Somerset.
Trees were blown down county wide by thunderstorm wind gusts.
Two trees were blown down, including one that fell on a truck.
Numerous large tree limbs the size of a mans upper arm were torn from trees on Pigskin Road by thunderstorm wind gusts.
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: 122681, 122682, 122683, 122684, 122685, 122686, 122687, 122688.