Warm, moist, and unstable air allowed for the development of a severe thunderstorm over Eastern Kentucky during the late afternoon of June 27th. This storm produced damaging winds, resulting in a tree and numerous large limbs down.
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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.
Warm, moist, and unstable air allowed for the development of a severe thunderstorm over Eastern Kentucky during the late afternoon of June 27th. This storm produced damaging winds, resulting in a tree and numerous large limbs down.
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 27, 1:39 PM EST, 1 hour 46 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 239 PM EDT FRI JUN 27 2008 .SHORT TERM.../TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/...UPDATED DAYTIME HEATING IN COMBINATION WITH APPROACHING WEAK UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE HAS TRIGGERED SCATTERED CONVECTION ACROSS THE AREA. THE 12Z NAM APPEARS TO BE HANDLING THIS INITIAL SHORT WAVE WELL...AND WILL FOLLOW ITS IDEA WITH SECOND MORE SIGNIFICANT WAVE INITIATING AN MCS ACROSS INDIANA TONIGHT. THIS IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY THE 12Z GFS. REMNANTS OF THIS SHOULD MOVE ACROSS THE NORTHERN PART OF THE FORECAST AREA IN THE PREDAWN HOURS ON SATURDAY. YET A THIRD WAVE TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA ON SATURDAY OR SATURDAY NIGHT...ALTHOUGH TIMING IS UNCERTAIN. THIS THIRD WAVE WILL HAVE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON EASTERN KY. NAM WOULD SUPPORT IDEA OF SIGNIFICANT CONVECTION WITH THIS DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY...WITH ANOTHER ROUND OF CONVECTION SATURDAY NIGHT ASSOCIATED WITH THE SURFACE COLD FRONT. THE GFS WOULD POINT TOWARDS LESS MID DAY CONVECTION ON SATURDAY WITH CONVECTION CONCENTRATED IN OUR AREA SATURDAY NIGHT WITH COMBINED EFFECTS OF UPPER LEVEL SHORT WAVE AND SURFACE FRONT. THIS IS REFLECTED IN THE MAVMOS POPS WITH THE PEAK POPS OCCURING DURING SATURDAY NIGHT. THE ETA MOS SUPPORTS THE NAM IDEA WITH PEAK POPS DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY. IN EITHER CASE THE FRONT DOES NOT WORK INTO THE AREA UNTIL SATURDAY NIGHT SO CONVECTION THREAT WILL CONTINUE. THE NAM ALSO POINTS TOWARDS YET ANOTHER POSSIBLE ROUND OF CONVECTION ON SUNDAY...WITH SECONDARY FRONT AND UPPER TROF. COULD BE AN ACTIVE WEEKEND...WITH MUCH DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH DAYTIME HEATING AND DESTABILIZATION WE ARE ABLE TO REALIZE CONSIDERING THERE WILL BE SOME RESIDUAL CLOUDINESS LEFT FROM EACH ROUND OF CONVECTION. GIVEN SOME DAYTIME HEATING ON SATURDAY LOOK FOR INCREASED INSTABILITY WITH LI/S -3 TO -6 AND CAPES IN EXCESS OF 2000. WITH MAINLY UNIDIRECTIONAL WIND FIELD EXPECT DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS TO BE THE MAIN THREAT ON SATURDAY AND SATURDAY EVENING....BUT HAIL IS ALSO POSSIBLE. WITH PRECIPITABLE WATER AROUND 2 INCHES BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE EFFICIENT RAIN MAKERS...SO ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING WILL BE A THREAT INTO SATURDAY EVENING. THIS WILL BE ESPECIALLY TRUE IN AREAS THAT SEE REPEATED ROUNDS OF HEAVY RAIN. THE MAV MOS TEMPERATURES LOOK FAIRLY GOOD FOR OVERNIGHT LOWS...BUT NOT THE CASE FOR HIGHS. WILL NUDGE ABOVE MAV MOS IN SOME AREAS ON SATURDAY....WITH SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OVER MAV MOS IN ALL AREAS FOR SUNDAY MAX TEMPERATURES. IT DOES NOT TAKE MUCH SUNSHINE THIS TIME OF YEAR FOR TEMPERATURES TO RISE QUICKLY. OF NOTE IS HOW LOW THE MAV MOS FORECAST HIGHS ARE FOR SUNDAY COMPARED WITH RECORDS FOR JUNE 29. ON SUNDAY THE MAV MOS FORECAST FOR JKL WOULD BE A RECORD LOW MAXIMUM AND THE MAV MOS FORECAST FOR LOZ WOULD BE WITHIN A DEGREE OF THE RECORD LOW MAXIMUM. .LONG TERM.../MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/...UPDATED BASED ON 12Z GFS THE UPPER LOW SHOULD BE CENTERED JUST EAST OF JAMES BAY BY 12Z MONDAY. THIS IS A LITTLE QUICKER MOVEMENT NORTHEAST COMPARED WITH THE 00Z GFS ENSEMBLE MEAN OR 00Z ECMWF. HOWEVER THE QUICKER MOVEMENT IS SUPPORTED BY THE 12Z NAM WHICH IS MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH THE MOVEMENT OF THE TROF AND UPPER LOW. WITH LOW AND TROF LIFTING NORTHEAST HEIGHTS RISE DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE UPCOMING WEEK. HOWEVER WE REMAIN IN BROAD CYCLONIC FLOW THROUGH MID WEEK. INITIALLY EXPECT SOME SHORT WAVE IMPULSES TO MOVE THROUGH THE MEAN TROF...BUT TIMING OF THESE IS DIFFICULT. LATEST MODEL GUIDANCE WOULD INDICATE ONE IMPULSE WILL AFFECT THE AREA MONDAY...AND WILL CARRY SLIGHT CHANCE POPS AREA WIDE FOR MONDAY...WITH SLIGHT CHANCE CONTINUING INTO THE NIGHT FOR THE NORTH AND EAST. EVEN LESS CERTAINTY FOR TUESDAY...AND PLAN TO CARRY A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR ONLY THE EAST PART OF FORECAST AREA ON TUESDAY. THIS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A COUPLE DAYS OF DRY CONDITIONS AREA WIDE. THE NEXT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL COME THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY WITH APPROACH OF NEXT TROF. UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE NORTHWESTERLY FLOW TEMPERATURES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PERIOD WILL BE BELOW NORMAL...WITH WARMING TEMPERATURES AS TROF LIFTS FROM THE AREA. WILL COOL TEMPERATURES BACK DOWN SOME ON FRIDAY WITH THE CHANCE FOR RAIN. && .AVIATION.../18Z TO 18Z/ ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL PASS NEAR TAF SITES NEXT SEVERAL HOURS RESULTING FROM A SLOWLY MOVING SHORTWAVE. THESE STORMS ARE TO BE MOVING FASTER THAN THE SHORTWAVE AND WILL EXPECT NEW DEVELOPMENT BEHIND THE CURRENT ONES FOR A FEW HOURS. THINK THEY WILL BECOME FEWER IN NUMBER TOWARDS LATE AFTERNOON. ISOLATED SMALL HAIL AND STRONG GUSTS WILL ACCOMPANY THE STORMS AND WILL UPDATE IF THEY APPEAR LIKELY TO MORE DIRECTLY AFFECT AN AIRPORT. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...SBH LONG TERM...SBH AVIATION...GV
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 545 AM EDT FRI JUN 27 2008 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-281245- 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- 545 AM EDT FRI JUN 27 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT. THE MAIN THREATS WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS... SMALL HAIL...AND BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT...WITH THE BEST CHANCE FOR ORGANIZED STORMS OCCURRING FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON INTO THE NIGHT AS A COLD FRONT CROSSES THE AREA. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BE STRONG...CONTAINING GUSTY WINDS...FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...AND POSSIBLY SMALL HAIL. IN ADDITION... ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT COULD CONTAIN VERY HEAVY RAINFALL...POSSIBLY LEADING TO FLASH FLOODING. THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS PLACED ALL OF KENTUCKY IN THE SLIGHT RISK AREA FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON INTO THE NIGHT. GREIF
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:23 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was blown down and across Highway 343, blocking the roadway. Numerous large limbs were also blown down.
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: 108947.