A strong low pressure center moved northeast from Oklahoma into south central Missouri by late afternoon, with a warm front extending east from the low across western Kentucky. The warm front served as a focusing mechanism for some of the ingredients needed for tornadogenesis.
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.
A strong low pressure center moved northeast from Oklahoma into south central Missouri by late afternoon, with a warm front extending east from the low across western Kentucky. The warm front served as a focusing mechanism for some of the ingredients needed for tornadogenesis. While most of the severe weather occurred in western Kentucky, a supercell produced a funnel cloud over the Evansville area.
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 Mar 28, 2:06 PM CST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 306 PM CDT SAT MAR 28 2009 .DISCUSSION... A WARM FRONT LIFTING NORTH ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE QUAD STATE THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE FOLLOWED QUICKLY BY LOW PRESSURE AND A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH BY EARLY EVENING. SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MUCH OF WEST KENTUCKY INTO SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS UNTIL THE COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE REGION...THUS A TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THESE AREAS UNTIL 02Z. WRAP AROUND MOISTURE AND COLDER AIR FILTERING IN BEHIND THIS LOW WILL LEAD TO A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW BY LATE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT...WITH THE BEST CHANCES ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE REGION. SURFACE TEMPERATURES WILL PREVENT ANY SNOW ACCUMULATION...WITH LOWS IN THE MID TO UPPER 30S. RAIN AND SNOW WILL LINGER INTO THE MORNING HOURS SUNDAY ACROSS OUR EASTERN COUNTIES...BUT NAM...GFS AND ECMWF ALL SHOW DRIER AIR AND SUNSHINE QUICKLY RETURNING BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. AS HIGH PRESSURE SLIDES TO OUR SOUTH...SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL QUICKLY RETURN BY LATE SUNDAY NIGHT...WITH A NICE WARM UP ON MONDAY. MONDAY NIGHT...ECMWF AND GFS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT BRINGING A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS INTO SOUTHWEST IOWA BY 12Z TUESDAY. SHOWERS WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE REGION MONDAY NIGHT AHEAD OF THE FRONT...WITH SOME THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE ACROSS THE SOUTH HALF OF THE AREA. AS THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH ON TUESDAY...THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MAINLY THE EASTERN HALF OF THE AREA. BY MID WEEK...THROUGH GFS AND ECMWF ARE NOT IN GREAT AGREEMENT...BOTH MODELS BRING A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES REGION. THIS WILL PROVIDE ANOTHER CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. ECMWF LINGERS SOME QPF ACROSS THE REGION THURSDAY NIGHT...SO KEPT A CHANCE OF SHOWERS GOING THROUGH 12Z FRIDAY. FOR NEAR TERM TEMPERATURES...BASICALLY USED A MAV/MET BLEND. IN THE EXTENDED...STAYED WITHIN A COUPLE DEGREES EITHER SIDE OF LATEST MEX GUIDANCE. && .AVIATION... OCCLUDING WARM FRONT IS LIFTING NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS S IL/W KY ATTM WITH COLD FRONT FOLLOWING CLOSELY BEHIND. THE TIMING OF THE FRONT IS TRICKY AS IT HAS BEEN SLOWING OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS...PASSING BY KCGI ATTM. EXPECT IT TO REACH KOWB/KEVV IN THE 23-01Z TIME FRAME. WINDS VEER TO THE SOUTHEAST AHEAD OF IT THEN QUICKLY SHIFT TO THE SOUTHWEST BEHIND. THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW GUSTS ABOVE 30KTS BRIEFLY WITH THE FROPA. BEST CHANCE FOR SVR TSRA WILL BE ACROSS W KY EAST OF THE LAKES. CIGS WILL BE MAINLY IN THE MVFR RANGE THROUGH THE PERIOD. WRAPAROUND MOISTURE WILL MAINTAIN MVFR CIGS THROUGH TONIGHT WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN OR EVEN WET SNOW SHOWERS...BUT WITH LITTLE/NO ACCUMULATION. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && PUBLIC...RST AVIATION...AD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 950 AM CDT SAT MAR 28 2009 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-291000- 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- 950 AM CDT SAT MAR 28 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL TRACK FROM NORTHERN ARKANSAS INTO SOUTHEAST MISSOURI TODAY. ONGOING SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE NORTH ACROSS THE REGION THIS MORNING...WITH A DIMINISHING TREND EXPECTED FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. FROM MIDDAY...INTO THE AFTERNOON HOURS...THE ATMOSPHERE IS FORECAST TO DESTABILIZE OVER WESTERN KENTUCKY...AND POSSIBLY THE SOUTHERN TIP OF ILLINOIS INTO SOUTHWEST INDIANA...EAST OF THE LOW TRACK. THE LATEST MORNING MODEL DATA CONTINUES TO SUGGEST THE REDEVELOPMENT OF STORMS...SOME OF WHICH COULD BE SEVERE. DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARDS. HOWEVER...THERE IS ALSO A CONCERN FOR TORNADOES...ESPECIALLY IF WE TAP ENOUGH SUNSHINE AND DAYTIME HEATING...AND FURTHER DESTABILIZE. THE AREA OF HIGHEST PROBABILITY SEEMS TO BE FOCUSED ON WESTERN KENTUCKY. THE CHANCE SHOULD BE OVER BEFORE DARK ACROSS THE PENNYRILE REGION OF WEST KENTUCKY AND PERHAPS SOUTHWEST INDIANA. STORM MOTION WILL BE NORTH TO NORTHEAST UP TO 60 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE PROBABILITY FOR WIDESPREAD HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS LOW. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY ACROSS MOST OF WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHWESTERN INDIANA...AND ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN ILLINOIS. NOLES
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
507 PM CDT SAT MAR 28 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0506 PM FUNNEL CLOUD MADISONVILLE 37.34N 87.51W
03/28/2009 HOPKINS KY LAW ENFORCEMENT
REPORT OF TWO FUNNEL CLOUDS ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE
COMMUNITY.
&&
SMITTYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
512 PM CDT SAT MAR 28 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0511 PM FUNNEL CLOUD MADISONVILLE 37.34N 87.51W
03/28/2009 HOPKINS KY TRAINED SPOTTER
REPORTED ROTATING FUNNEL CLOUD ALONG HIGHWAY 121. PEA
SIZE HAIL REPORTED WITH THIS STORM.
&&
SMITTYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
520 PM CDT SAT MAR 28 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0450 PM HAIL HOPKINSVILLE 36.85N 87.49W
03/28/2009 M1.00 INCH CHRISTIAN KY EMERGENCY MNGR
QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED ALONG INTERSTATE 24 AT
ASHBERRY CIRCLE.
&&
SMITTYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
522 PM CDT SAT MAR 28 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0455 PM TSTM WND DMG HOPKINSVILLE 36.85N 87.49W
03/28/2009 CHRISTIAN KY CO-OP OBSERVER
DOWNED TREE ON SOUTH END OF TOWN. WIND GUSTS ESTIMATED AT
59 MPH.
&&
SMITTYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
523 PM CDT SAT MAR 28 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0500 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 E OAK GROVE 36.67N 87.34W
03/28/2009 TODD KY EMERGENCY MNGR
SEMI-TRUCK PICKED UP AND TOSSED NEAR MILE MARKER 88 ON
I-24.
&&
ADPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
526 PM CDT SAT MAR 28 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0522 PM HAIL 2 N ELKTON 36.84N 87.16W
03/28/2009 M0.75 INCH TODD KY TRAINED SPOTTER
DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED.
&&
SMITTYThe Evansville,IN radar (KVWX), 35 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:24 UTC.
1 funnel cloud, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
The supercell thunderstorm that produced a strong tornado over Henderson County, Kentucky crossed the Ohio River. A rotating funnel cloud was reported at the intersection of the Lloyd Expressway and Interstate 164 in Evansville.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, March 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: 158412, 158413.