An isolated severe storm occurred near a weak stationary front that extended from central Arkansas northeast along the Lower Ohio Valley.
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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.
An isolated severe storm occurred near a weak stationary front that extended from central Arkansas northeast along the Lower Ohio Valley.
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 Sep 19, 11:40 AM CST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1240 PM CDT FRI SEP 19 2008 .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... WEAK 500 MB TROUGH OVER ARKANSAS IS FORECAST TO BECOME A CLOSED LOW TONIGHT. AS THIS SYSTEM BECOMES BETTER ORGANIZED...LIFT WILL INCREASE ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. BOTH NAM AND GFS TIME HEIGHT CROSS SECTIONS INDICATE STRONG MID LEVEL UPWARD MOTION TONIGHT OVER SE MISSOURI. WHILE THE ACTUAL VALUES APPEAR SUSPICIOUSLY HIGH DUE TO THE BULLSEYE SHAPE OF THE CONTOURS...THERE WILL BE INCREASED FORCING NEAR THE UPPER LOW. AT LOWER LEVELS...THE MODELS DEPICT INCREASING LOW LEVEL CONVERGENCE BENEATH THE 500 MB LOW. THE 12Z NAM EVEN SHOWS A WEAK 850 MB LOW FORMING OVER NORTHERN ARKANSAS. A DEEP MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL BECOME ESTABLISHED THIS EVENING...WITH THE AXIS OF STRONGEST MOISTURE ADVECTION ALONG THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. AREAS OF SHOWERS AND STORMS OVER NE ARKANSAS/FAR WEST TENNESSEE THIS AFTERNOON WILL LIFT NORTH. POPS WILL BE IN THE LIKELY CATEGORY FOR SE MISSOURI TONIGHT. A STRONG MOISTURE GRADIENT WILL EXIST OVER WESTERN KY AND SE ILLINOIS. PARTS OF SW INDIANA AND WESTERN KY WILL REMAIN DRY TONIGHT AS A DEEP LAYER RIDGE STAYS ANCHORED OVER THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY. ON SATURDAY...THE CLOSED 500 MB LOW WILL LIFT NORTH/NORTHEAST ACROSS THE MISSOURI OZARKS. SINCE THE LOW WILL MAKE LITTLE EASTWARD PROGRESS...THE HIGHEST POPS WILL REMAIN IN THE WESTERN COUNTIES OF SE MISSOURI. AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL REACH THE KHOP/KOWB AREAS DURING THE DAY. THE AXIS OF STRONGEST SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL REMAIN IN THE VICINITY OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. A GRADUAL DECREASE IN POPS WILL BEGIN SATURDAY NIGHT AS THE 500 MB LOW BEGINS TO SHEAR APART OVER MISSOURI. ON SUNDAY...AT LEAST A SMALL POP WILL CONTINUE IN SOME AREAS AS THE REMNANTS OF THE TROUGH LIFT ACROSS MISSOURI AND ILLINOIS. 500 MB HEIGHTS WILL BEGIN TO RISE SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD ACROSS THE MIDWEST. DRY CONDITIONS WITH NEAR NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED MONDAY AS LOW LEVEL WINDS BECOME EAST TO NORTHEAST. .LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/... TIMING OF 500 MB SHORTWAVES ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTRY VARIES FROM MODEL TO MODEL. WEAK COLD FRONTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHORTWAVES WILL DISSIPATE OR STALL AS THEY APPROACH THE FORECAST AREA. MOISTURE WILL BE VERY LIMITED AS EXPANSIVE MID LEVEL RIDGING SHOULD COVER MOST OF THE SOUTHERN STATES. WHILE THE LONG TERM APPEARS MAINLY DRY...ISOLATED CONVECTION IS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE NORTHERN COUNTIES WITH ANY WEAKENING COLD FRONTS. FORECAST WILL REMAIN DRY UNLESS OR UNTIL MODELS HONE IN ON THE TIMING AND LOCATION. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST FOR ALL TAF SITES THROUGH AT LEAST 06Z SATURDAY. MVFR VISIBILITIES AND RW/TRW ARE FORECAST BETWEEN 05-10Z SATURDAY FOR KCGI AND KPAH. WINDS WILL CONTINUE LIGHT OUT OF THE SOUTHEAST OR CALM. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && SHORT TERM/LONG TERM...MY AVIATION...JAP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 326 PM CDT FRI SEP 19 2008 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-201130- 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- 326 PM CDT FRI SEP 19 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEST OF A LINE FROM EVANSVILLE INDIANA TO HOPKINSVILLE KENTUCKY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NUMEROUS OVER SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...WHERE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING IS POSSIBLE. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED. MINOR TO MODERATE FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG PARTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI AND BIG MUDDY RIVERS. SEE THE LATEST FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR MORE DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS FORECAST SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...ESPECIALLY OVER SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN MAY OCCUR. SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED. FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG PARTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI AND BIG MUDDY RIVERS. SEE THE LATEST FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR MORE DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. MY
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 71 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:14 UTC.
1 flash flood, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
The intersection of Highway 177 and North End Boulevard was closed due to standing water. A trained spotter in the area reported 1.4 inches of rain in 20 minutes.
Nickel-size hail was reported, along with winds estimated around 40 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, September 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: 135475, 134433.