Scattered thunderstorms persisted through the early morning hours along an axis of increasing moisture and confluence associated with a west-southwesterly low level jet. The activity was located on the southern fringe of a moderately strong east-west mid-level jet.
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 PAH wrote it up.
Scattered thunderstorms persisted through the early morning hours along an axis of increasing moisture and confluence associated with a west-southwesterly low level jet. The activity was located on the southern fringe of a moderately strong east-west mid-level jet. The associated deep-layer shear and warm advection boosted the threat of large hail and isolated wind damage.
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 May 7, 1:46 PM CST, 8 hours 49 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 246 PM CDT THU MAY 7 2009 .DISCUSSION / TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY... LATEST SURFACE ANALYSIS SHOWS WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY STALLED OVER THE FA. THE BOUNDARY WAS MAINLY EVIDENT VIA PRESSURE GRADIENT AND STREAMLINE WINDS. VIS SAT LOOP DEPICTS AREA OF CLOUDS ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAK VORT MAX ABOUT TO EXIT TO THE EAST OF THE AREA. THIS WAS ALSO SUPPORTED WELL WITH THE REGIONAL RADAR LOOP. SLIGHT PLACEMENT AND QPF DISCREPANCIES AMONG THE 12Z THU MODEL RUNS AND THE 00Z THU ECMWF RUN INCLUDED. OPTED TO GO WITH A HYBRID QPF BETWEEN THE 12Z GFS...00Z THU ECMWF...HPCQPF...AND COLLABORATION. AT THIS POINT AM EXPECTING AN MCS TO DEVELOP OVER SW MO OVERNIGHT AND MAKE ITS WAY INTO PAH FA AROUND SUNRISE AND RESULT IN ONE TO TWO INCHES OVER MOST OF THE FA FRIDAY. WITH SOME LINGERING QPF INTO THE EVENING HOURS. CURRENTLY CONSIDERING A FLASH FLOOD WATCH. WILL WAIT FOR THE 12Z ECMWF AND POSSIBLY THE 18Z MODEL RUNS WHICH WILL BE MORE FOR THE EVENING SHIFT. HOWEVER WILL MONITOR AND MAKE CALL CLOSER TO PRESS TIME. AS FOR TEMPS AND WINDS NOT MANY CHANGES JUST MINOR TWEAKS FOR MAINLY COLLABORATION PURPOSES. DISCUSSION / SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY... NOT MUCH REST FOR THE WEARY IN THE EXTENDED PERIODS. RW/TRW MAY LINGER INTO SUNDAY NIGHT AS RIPPLES OF UPPER LEVEL ENERGY TAP INTO DECENT POST FRONTAL MOISTURE. HIGH PRESSURE OVERSPREADING THE REGION SHOULD KEEP THE REGION DRY MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT. ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON MODELS PUSH PRECIP CHANCES INTO OUR FAR WESTERN COUNTIES AS THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM BEGINS TO MOVE OUT OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS. TUESDAY NIGHT PRECIP (SCHC/CHC POPS) WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL OF THE CWA...BUT WITH THE FRINGES OF AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE PUSHING NORTHWARD INTO THE REGION...THE BETTER CHANCES SHOULD BE ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA. ON WEDNESDAY THE UPPER RIDGE GET SUPPRESSED SOMEWHAT AS THE SYSTEM APPROACHES...WHICH SHOULD ALLOW FOR SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCES FOR PRECIP. FLOW ALOFT REMAINS NEARLY PARALLEL TO THE FRONT SO THIS SYSTEM WILL ALSO BE VERY SLOW MOVING. PRECIP CHANCES INCREASE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY AS THE SYSTEM SLOWLY DRAGS ACROSS THE REGION. && .AVIATION... IFR CIGS AND VSBY WERE LIFTING AT KEVV AND KOWB. EXPECT VFR CIGS AND VSBY TO PERSIST WITH THE EXCEPTION OF POSSIBLE TSRA NEAR KEVV AND KOWB THIS AFTN. BRING IN LOW DECK OVNGT BUT KEEP IT MAINLY VFR AGAIN WITH THE EXCEPTION OF TSRA/SHRA AFTER MIDNIGHT. BROUGHT IN PREDOMINANT TSRA AFTER 12Z ALL SITES. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && KH/JAP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 323 PM CDT THU MAY 7 2009 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-082030- 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- 323 PM CDT THU MAY 7 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. LATE TONIGHT A COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO PUSH EASTWARD INTO PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. MANY AREA RIVERS WILL CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE MINOR TO MODERATE FLOODING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY ON FRIDAY A COMPLEX OF THUNDERSTORMS IS EXPECTED TO PUSH EASTWARD ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND WIDESPREAD HEAVY RAINFALL. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SATURDAY NIGHT...MONDAY...AND MONDAY NIGHT...THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE EACH DAY AS TWO SLOW MOVING FRONTAL SYSTEMS AFFECT THE REGION. MANY AREA RIVERS WILL CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE MINOR TO MODERATE FLOODING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED LATE TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY. JP
The St Louis radar (KLSX), 125 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:34 UTC.
8 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Shingles were blown off a roof. A barn roof was partially blown off. The microburst damage area was about 100 yards long and 50 yards wide. The damage site was on Route 154 several miles west of Pinckneyville.
Golf-ball hail fell on the north side of Murphysboro. An auto sales and home sales business received minimal damage. Vehicles were dinged at a residence northwest of Murphysboro. Smaller hail around the size of nickels fell downtown.
Hail ranging from quarter to golf-ball size affected the Carbondale area north to DeSoto. Quarter to half-dollar size hail fell in DeSoto. On the east side of Carbondale, at least ten car windshields were broken by golf-ball size hail. Hail from one to one-and-one-half inches in diameter was reported on the west and north sides of Carbondale.
Power lines were down.
Golf-ball size hail fell across much of western Williamson County from Carterville to Herrin and Cambria.
Hail was measured up to two inches in diameter on Route 148.
Quarter-size hail fell in Giant City State Park.
Large hail lasted about four minutes. The hail was accompanied by strong winds. Some cars were dented.
This microburst was only about 0.3 miles long and 0.3 miles wide. A couple of large trees were uprooted. Five houses had roof damage, mainly to shingles. Tin on roofs of outbuildings curled up. One garage sustained minor roof and siding damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, May 2009
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: 165934, 165913, 165919, 165926, 165921, 165925, 165935, 165927, 165939, 165933, 165960.