A thunderstorm complex moved east across Kentucky during the overnight and early morning hours of June 3rd. Some of the storms were severe, producing 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 thunderstorm complex moved east across Kentucky during the overnight and early morning hours of June 3rd. Some of the storms were severe, producing damaging winds. Isolated flash flooding also occurred. The wind was strong enough to bring down a few trees and tree limbs. Two to three inches of rain fell over parts of Bath and Montgomery counties, resulting in isolated flash flooding.
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 Jun 1, 7:03 AM EST, 2 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 803 AM EDT SUN JUN 1 2008 .SHORT TERM.../TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY/ MCS HAS REMAINED TO OUR SOUTH AND WEST. ENOUGH INSTABILITY REMAINS FOR WIDELY SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE MORNING BUT SEVERE THREAT APPEARS TO HAVE ENDED AND WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR ALL OF OUR COUNTIES. NO OTHER CHANGES MADE... SURFACE COLD FRONT DRAPED ACROSS THE BLUEGRASS STATE WILL DROP TO OUR SOUTH TODAY. THE AIRMASS THIS AFTERNOON DOES BECOME A LITTLE UNSTABLE EVEN WITH THE DRIER AIRMASS FILTERING IN BEHIND THE FRONT AND WEAK UPPER LEVEL IMPULSES DIVING DOWN IN THE DEVELOPING NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT MAY FIRE A FEW STORMS. THUS AT LEAST SLIGHT CHANCE POPS WILL BE INCLUDED AREAWIDE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. OTHERWISE... WEAK SURFACE HIGH BUILDS IN WITH DRY CONDITIONS ANTICIPATED LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY EVENING. PROGS INDICATE ANOTHER FRONT WILL DROP SOUTHEAST INTO THE OHIO VALLEY BY LATE MONDAY NIGHT. THIS ALONG WITH INCREASING MOISTURE RETURN WEST OF THE APPALACHIANS INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST WILL LIKELY RESULT IN MCS DEVELOPMENT SOMEWHERE TO OUR NORTHWEST LATE MONDAY NIGHT. PROGS IN AGREEMENT THIS ACTIVITY WILL PROGRESS EASTWARD REMAINING TO OUR NORTH... BUT NOT VERY CONFIDENT OF THIS SO WILL MAINTAIN SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE POPS ACROSS THE AREA LATE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. AS FOR TEMPERATURES... WILL CONTINUE TO FAVOR THE COOLEST GUIDANCE NUMBERS FOR HIGHS... OR EVEN GO A DEGREE OR TWO LOWER THROUGH THE PERIOD BASED ON RECENT MOS PERFORMANCE. A BLEND FOR LOWS LOOKED REASONABLE. A SLIGHTLY COOLER AND DRIER AIRMASS WILL ADVECT IN BEHIND THE FRONT LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT BUT THIS APPEARS TO MODIFY QUICKLY WITH HIGHS WARMING BACK WELL INTO THE 80S BY TUESDAY. .LONG TERM.../TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/ THERE IS GENERAL MODEL AGREEMENT THAT A TROUGH WILL CARVE OUT IN THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL CONUS...WHILE RIDGING TAKES PLACE ACROSS THE EASTERN CONUS. A SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH FROM THE NORTHWEST ON TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY...BEFORE BECOMING QUASI-STATIONARY AND EVENTUALLY RETURNING NORTH AS A WARM FRONT BY THURSDAY. HAVE MAINTAINED AT LEAST LOW CHANCE POPS IN THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH THIS FRONTAL BOUNDARY NEAR THE FORECAST AREA. RIDGING AND SUMMER- LIKE TEMPERATURES TAKE PLACE THEREAFTER...WITH A WEAK COLD FRONT APPROACHING BY SATURDAY AND PERHAPS PROVIDING ENOUGH MOISTURE RETURN FOR AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR STORM IN THE AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WERE NUDGED UPWARDS EACH PERIOD IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH THE 01/00Z GFSX MOS NUMBERS...WHICH LOOK VERY GOOD CONSIDERING THE AIRMASS PROGGED TO BE OVERHEAD THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .AVIATION.../12Z TO 12Z/...UPDATED IFR TO MVFR FOG IN THE VALLEY LOCATIONS SHOULD QUICKLY IMPROVE AROUND 13Z OR 14Z...THOUGH WITH RH STILL RATHER HIGH SOME HZ MAY LINGER. OTHEWISE...AN ILL DEFINED COLD FRONT IS OVER THE REGION AND IT WILL COMBINE WITH DAYTIME HEATING AND WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES TO BRING SCATTERED SHRA/TSRA TODAY. HANDLED THIS WITH VFR CIGS WITH A CB CLOUD GROUP AND VCSH...THOUGH LOCALLY BRIEF IFR OR LOWER IS POSSIBLE UNDER ANY THUNDERSTORMS. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...ABE LONG TERM....GEOGERIAN AVIATION...JP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 444 AM EDT SUN JUN 1 2008 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-021100- 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- 444 AM EDT SUN JUN 1 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. SMALL HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FROM LATE MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THEN AGAIN ON SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. ABE
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 647 AM EDT SUN JUN 1 2008 KYZ086>088-011115- KNOX-HARLAN-BELL- 647 AM EDT SUN JUN 1 2008 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT SOUTHERN KNOX AND SOUTHWESTERN HARLAN AND NORTHERN BELL COUNTIES THROUGH 715 AM EDT SUNDAY MORNING... AT 647 AM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR WARREN... MOVING EAST AT 32 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR FOURMILE AND PINEVILLE AROUND 655 AM EDT...WALLSEND AROUND 700 AM EDT...CARY AROUND 705 AM EDT...KETTLE ISLAND AROUND 710 AM EDT. RESIDENTS SHOULD EXPECT HEAVY RAIN...WITH RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO ONE INCH PER HOUR...GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL IN THESE AREAS. PELTON
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 714 AM EDT SUN JUN 1 2008 KYZ087-088-011145- HARLAN-BELL- 714 AM EDT SUN JUN 1 2008 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT SOUTHWESTERN HARLAN AND CENTRAL BELL COUNTIES THROUGH 745 AM EDT SUNDAY MORNING... AT 714 AM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR STRAIGHT CREEK...MOVING EAST AT 32 MPH. THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR BALKAN AROUND 720 AM EDT...BLACK SNAKE AROUND 725 AM EDT...INSULL AROUND 730 AM EDT...TWILA AROUND 735 AM EDT...STANFILL AROUND 740 AM EDT. RESIDENTS SHOULD EXPECT HEAVY RAIN...WITH RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO ONE INCH PER HOUR...GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL IN THESE AREAS. PELTON
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:15 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A couple of roads had 6 inches of water flowing over them.
Several trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts.
A couple of large tree limbs were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts.
One tree was blown down across a road near Rothwell.
A power line was downed 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, June 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: 108330, 108327, 108329, 108331, 108332.