Thunderstorms developed along a cold front as it moved southeast across southern Illinois. The storms were supported by a 500 mb trough axis approaching the Mississippi River, preceded by moderately strong winds around 40 knots.
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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.
Thunderstorms developed along a cold front as it moved southeast across southern Illinois. The storms were supported by a 500 mb trough axis approaching the Mississippi River, preceded by moderately strong winds around 40 knots. Isolated storms produced wind damage and hail.
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 26, 11:25 AM CST, 2 hours 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1225 PM CDT SAT SEP 26 2009 .UPDATE... FOR 18Z AVIATION. VFR CIGS AND VSBY TO THE RULE THIS AFTN AND EVNG WITH THE EXCEPTION OF MVFR VSBY PSBL WITH ANY TSRA THIS EVENING. IF ANYTHING DOES FIRE WITH UPPER LOW ARRIVAL BELIEVE THE GREATEST THREAT WILL BE FOR KEVV AND KOWB. OTHERWISE EXPECT SOME PATCHY FOG OVERNIGHT WITH VFR CONDITIONS SUNDAY. && .DISCUSSION... SATELLITE/SURFACE OBS SHOW DENSE FOG HAS EXPANDED A LITTLE FURTHER SOUTHWARD AND EASTWARD...SO WE WILL LIKELY EXPAND ADVISORY 1-2 TIERS OF COUNTIES. FURTHER SOUTH AND EAST THAN THAT...AND THE MORE DENSE CLOUD COVER LOOKS LIKE IT INHIBITS VSBY RESTRICTIONS. THEREFORE ALL BUT THE OZARK FOOTHILLS IN MISSOURI AND PENNYRILE REGION OF WKY WILL BE UNDER A DENSE FOG ADVISORY THRU 10 AM. HIGH CHC POPS ACROSS THE SE WILL CONTINUE THIS AM AS 88D CURRENTLY SHOWS LARGE AREA OF OVERRUNNING SHOEWRS MOVING NORTH AND EAST OUT OF WEST TN. AS THIS AREA SHIFTS EAST THIS AM...HIGHEST CHC POPS SHIFT TO OUR WRN COUNTIES...AS UPPER LOW MOVES ACROSS MID MS VALLEY. FORECAST LAPSE RATES GIVEN MOVEMENT OF COLD TEMPS ALOFT OVERHEAD RESULTS IN OUR AREA RECEIVING NEW SWODY1 SLGT RISK FOR PM/EVENING HOURS. BY MIDNIGHT THE TROF AXIS HAS MOVED ACROSS THE FA AND PCPN CHANCES WANE TO NIL THEREAFTER. WEAK SURFACE RIDGING BUILDS IN LATER SUNDAY AND THIS BEGINS A DRY PERIOD THAT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL LAST THRU MUCH OF NEXT WEEK. ANOTHER WEAK TROF PASSES SUN NIGHT BUT FOR NOW LOOKS LIKE A DRY FROPA. COOLER AIR SETTLES IN BEHIND THIS 2NDARY FRONTAL PASSAGE FOR MON...THEN CENTRAL U.S. RIDGING DRIVES A DRY FORECAST THRU MOST OF THE WEEK...THE NEXT SYSTEM NOT ENTERING THE FORECAST PICTURE TIL DAY 7 (FRIDAY) OR BEYOND. && .AVIATION... LIFR AND IFR VSBYS WILL BE PREDOMINANT AT TAF SITES THROUGH 14Z. AREAS WITH DENSE FOG WILL HAVE CIGS AT VV001...OTHERWISE CIGS WILL BE VFR WITH CALM WINDS. AFTER 14Z...EXPECT VFR CIGS AND VSBYS. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND STORMS POSSIBLE IN THE AFTERNOON...BUT CHANCES TOO LOW AT THIS TIME TO INCLUDE IN TAFS. AFTER 01Z...EXPECT GRADUALLY CLEARING SKIES. WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS AT 5 TO 10 KTS THIS AFTERNOON WILL BECOME LIGHT AND MORE SOUTHWESTERLY THIS EVENING. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1142 AM CDT SAT SEP 26 2009 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-271000- 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- 1142 AM CDT SAT SEP 26 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...INCLUDING THE CHANCE FOR ISOLATED STRONG OR SEVERE STORMS THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING. THE MOVEMENT OF AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVERHEAD WILL RESULT IN A SLIGHT RISK FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS MAINLY DURING THE PEAK HEATING HOURS OF THE DAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS RETURNS TO THE FORECAST FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD MAINTAIN ALERT STATUS IN CASE THEIR ACTIVATION IS REQUESTED THIS AFTERNOON.
The Evansville,IN radar (KVWX), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:30 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter estimated wind gusts from 55 to 60 mph on Interstate 64, along with one-half inch hail.
Quarter-size hail was reported just north of Christopher.
Dime-size hail occurred in Buckner, Ewing, and the northeast part of Benton.
Large tree limbs were blown down in Ewing, the northeast part of Benton, and Buckner.
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, September 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: 193415, 193431, 193416, 193430.