Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rain and minor flooding. The storms occurred ahead of a cold front over southern Illinois and an upper level trough over Missouri.
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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 produced locally heavy rain and minor flooding. The storms occurred ahead of a cold front over southern Illinois and an upper level trough over Missouri.
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 Aug 1, 6:15 PM CST, 1 hour 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 715 PM CDT SAT AUG 1 2009 .UPDATE... REVISED AVIATION DISCUSSION FOR 00Z TAFS. && .PREVIOUS DISCUSSION /ISSUED 234 PM CDT SAT AUG 1 2009/... SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/... THE UNUSUALLY FAST PACED TRAIN OF SYSTEMS FOR MID SUMMER CONTINUES IN THE SHORT TERM. A WEAK COLD FRONT OVER CENTRAL MISSOURI THIS AFTERNOON WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY LATE TONIGHT...AND EXIT WESTERN KENTUCKY EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. 19Z MESOANALYSIS INDICATES CURRENT CONVECTION OVER SE MISSOURI IS OCCURRING IN THE POCKET OF MOST UNSTABLE AIR. AS SUCH...A WEAKENING TREND IS EXPECTED AS THE SHOWERS AND STORMS MOVE INTO SOMEWHAT DRIER AND MORE STABLE AIR OVER THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY THIS EVENING. SOME LOCALLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS ARE THE MAIN HAZARD. PRECIP COVERAGE AND INTENSITY WILL WANE STEADILY AFTER MIDNIGHT...THOUGH A FEW LINGERING SHOWERS OR STORMS MAY PERSIST WITH THE FRONT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. A VERY DRY AIR MASS FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR WILL INFILTRATE THE REGION SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. TIME HEIGHT CROSS SECTIONS OF RH INDICATE RH VALUES BELOW 10 PERCENT IN THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS. WITH LOTS OF SOLAR HEATING ON SUNDAY...STRONG MIXING COULD LOWER DEW POINTS INTO THE LOWER OR MID 50S IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH TEMPS WILL BE CLOSE TO GFS/NAM MOS. AS A SURFACE RIDGE CROSSES THE FORECAST AREA SUNDAY NIGHT...CLEAR SKIES/LIGHT WINDS AND DRY AIR WILL ALLOW TEMPS TO RADIATE VERY NICELY FOR MID SUMMER. WILL USE THE MILDER NAM MOS FOR LOWS...AND EVEN THESE ARE IN THE LOWER 60S. MUCH WILL DEPEND ON WHETHER SURFACE DEW POINTS RECOVER AFTER DARK. AS FOR MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...A SOUTHWEST WIND FLOW WILL BRING THE HUMIDITY BACK...ALONG WITH WARMER TEMPS. LOCAL VERIFICATION PROGRAM SHOWS THAT GFS MOS AVERAGED 4 TO 5 DEGREES TOO WARM FOR HIGHS IN JULY. THEREFORE...WILL NOT HESITATE TO UNDERCUT MOS BY A FEW DEGREES ON MONDAY. BOTH NAM/GFS MOS OFFER LOWER 90S IN MOST PLACES MONDAY. BOTH PERIODS SHOULD REMAIN DRY...THOUGH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS OR STORMS EXISTS LATE MONDAY NIGHT AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT DISCUSSED IN LONG TERM SECTION BELOW. LONG TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... DURING THE TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY TIME FRAME...MAIN FORECAST CONCERN IS A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY THAT WILL PUSH SOUTH ACROSS MISSOURI AND ILLINOIS. RELIED HEAVILY ON THE 09Z SREF...WHICH TAKES THE FRONT TO THE INTERSTATE 64 CORRIDOR TUESDAY EVENING. FROM THERE...THE MODEL CONSENSUS IS THAT THE FRONT WILL STALL OR SLOW DOWN AS IT CROSSES WESTERN KY AND SE MISSOURI. THEREFORE...THE HIGHEST POPS DURING THE LONG TERM PORTION OF THE FORECAST WILL BE TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THESE POPS WILL ONLY BE IN THE CHANCE CATEGORY DUE TO MODEL VARIATIONS IN THE TIMING OF UPPER LEVEL IMPULSES IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW. HIGH TEMPS WILL REMAIN SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL THROUGH THIS PERIOD...MAINLY DUE TO CLOUDS/PRECIP. BEYOND THURSDAY...THE MAIN FORECAST CONCERN IS WHEN AND IF THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN STATES WILL FINALLY PUSH EAST. CONSENSUS AMONG MOST NEIGHBORING NWS OFFICES IS TO PLAY IT CONSERVATIVE WITH THE RIDGE AND ASSOCIATED WARMING TREND. BASED ON THE PERSISTENCE OF THIS NORTHWEST FLOW PATTERN THIS SUMMER...IT SEEMS PREMATURE TO EXPECT SUCH A DRASTIC CHANGE AS THAT SHOWN BY THE 00Z ECMWF. EVEN SO...THERE IS ENOUGH OF A MODEL SIGNAL TO AT LEAST BRING TEMPS BACK UP TO NORMAL /AROUND 90/ BY SATURDAY. && .AVIATION... NEAR TERM FORECAST CONCERN REMAINS LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS MOVING EAST ACROSS THE WABASH RIVER TOWARDS KEVV AND KOWB THIS EVENING. TIMED THIS INTO KEVV BY 01Z AND KOWB BY 02Z. WIND GUSTS COULD REACH 20 TO 30 KNOTS IN LOCALLY STRONGER STORMS...OTHERWISE 10 TO 20 KNOTS AS THE LINE OF STORMS MOVES THROUGH. AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE AT KCGI AND KPAH...BUT COVERAGE WILL REMAIN MEAGER DUE TO CAPPING AND WEAKER LOW-LEVEL CONVERGENCE. THE FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH OVERNIGHT...SHIFTING RAIN CHANCES TO THE EAST OF THE AREA BY LATE EVENING. CLEARING WILL FOLLOW OVERNIGHT... WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR IFR FOG TO DEVELOP AT KCGI AND KPAH. MVFR CEILINGS WILL PROBABLY HOLD ON LONGER AT KEVV AND KOWB...SO FOG DEVELOPMENT IS NOT QUITE AS PROBABLE THERE. LINGERING LOW CLOUDS/FOG WILL CLEAR OUT BY MID MORNING SUNDAY...PAVING THE WAY FOR VFR CONDITIONS THE REST OF THE DAY. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && SHORT/LONG TERM...MY AVIATION...RJP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 526 AM CDT SAT AUG 1 2009 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-021030- 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- 526 AM CDT SAT AUG 1 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE FORECAST THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...ESPECAILLY ALONG AND WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AND OVER THE WESTERN TIP OF KENTUCKY. A STRAY SEVERE STORM CANNOT BE RULED OUT DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING...BUT WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY CHANCES OF THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO FORECAST MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY...AS A FRONTAL BOUNDARY BECOMES STATIONARY OVER THE REGION. A STRAY SEVERE STORM WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY TUESDAY...BUT WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL ALSO WILL BE A CONCERN DURING THIS PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS MAY NEED TO BE ACTIVATED IN A FEW LOCATIONS ALONG AND WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER THIS AFTERNOON OR EVENING.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Urban street flooding occurred in downtown Henderson. Several inches of water covered 8th Street. Two to three inches of water was over U.S. Highway 60 between Baskett and Henderson.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, August 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: 187551.