A strong cold front moving across the area, combined with very strong winds just a few thousand feet above the ground, resulted in the development of severe thunderstorms across Eastern Kentucky during the early morning hours of February 27th. Numerous downed trees were reported throughout the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 JKL wrote it up.
A strong cold front moving across the area, combined with very strong winds just a few thousand feet above the ground, resulted in the development of severe thunderstorms across Eastern Kentucky during the early morning hours of February 27th. Numerous downed trees were reported throughout the 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 Jackson, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 27, 3:27 AM EST, 53 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 327 AM EST FRI FEB 27 2009 .SHORT TERM.../TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY/...UPDATED THE ROLLER COASTER RIDE OF MODEL RUNS CONTINUES UNABATED FOR THIS WEEKEND. THE MODELS CAN NOT QUITE GET SETTLED ON THE UPPER LOW PHASING AND THE ASSOCIATED TRACK OF THE SURFACE LOW. WENT WITH GFS THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT AND THEN WENT WITH A BLEND OF THE ECMWF AND NAM FOR SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THE LONG AWAITED COLD FRONT IS FINALLY MOVING TOWARD THE AREA. IT APPEARS THAT MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION AND THUNDER ACTIVITY IS PRE FRONTAL AND IS BEING FUELED BY A HEALTHY LOW LEVEL JET. THE LEADING EDGE OF THE BAND OF HEAVIER PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE ARRIVING AT THE BORDER OF THE FORECAST AREA BETWEEN 6 AND 7 AM AND WILL TAKE ABOUT 5 TO 6 HOURS TO MOVE ACROSS EASTERN KENTUCKY. THE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WHICH WILL ACCOMPANY THIS LINE NEED TO BE CLOSELY MONITORED TO SEE IF THEY ARE ABLE TO MIX DOWN THE MUCH HIGHER VELOCITY AIR ALOFT. RIGHT NOW...AM EXPECTING PEAK GUSTS IN THE 45 TO 55 MPH RANGE...WITH OTHERS MOSTLY IN THE 35 TO 45 MPH RANGE. THE ACTUAL FRONT WILL BE ABOUT 1 TO 3 HOURS BEHIND THE BAND OF HEAVIER PRECIPITATION AND WILL USHER IN SOME COLD AIR FROM BEHIND THE FRONT. WHEN A FRONTAL WAVE DEVELOPS TO THE SOUTHEAST...WITH THE COLD AIR IN PLACE...WILL CREATE AN IDEAL ENVIRONMENT FOR SNOW ON SATURDAY AND ESPECIALLY ON SATURDAY NIGHT. IF A DEFORMATION ZONE FORMS TO FOCUS THE SNOW FALL...THIS COULD BE A SIGNIFICANT SNOW FALL EVENT. DUE TO THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE TRACK AND THE MODEL INCONSISTENCIES...WILL HOLD OFF ISSUING A SNOW ADVISORY AT THIS TIME. THE CURRENT BEST GUESS WOULD BE FOR 1 TO 2 INCHES OF SNOWFALL ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA...WITH SOME ISOLATED LOCATIONS GETTING 3 BEFORE IT STOPS ON SUNDAY NIGHT. .LONG TERM.../SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/...UPDATED THE LONG TERM PERIOD STARTS OUT WITH A STORM SYSTEM TO OUR SOUTHEAST. A CLOSED H5 LOW SHOULD BE MOVING ALONG THE EAST COAST THROUGH TUESDAY...WITH DEEP EAST COAST TROUGHING REMAINING THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK. THE MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH THE PATTERN...WITH SOME RELATIVELY SMALL DIFFERENCES IN THE DETAILS. MODELS HAVE DRIED THINGS OUT A LITTLE FASTER SUNDAY EVENING...SO REMOVED POPS FROM SUNDAY NIGHT. THINGS SHOULD BE COLD AND DRY MONDAY. UNDERCUT GUIDANCE SOME WITH WHAT SHOULD BE SOME SNOW COVER IN PLACE FROM THE WEEKEND. A WEAK UPPER DISTURBANCE DROPS SOUTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA LATE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY...WITH AN INCREASE IN CLOUDS. MOISTURE LOOKS TO BE TOO SHALLOW FOR ANY MEASURABLE PRECIP ATTM. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS BACK IN FOR WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY...WITH A GRADUAL WARMING TREND. A WARM FRONT MAY APPROACH LATE THURSDAY... BUT KEPT THINGS DRY FOR NOW...WITH THE BEST CHANCE FOR PRECIP BEING AFTER THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. && .AVIATION.../06Z TO 06Z/ THE PRIMARY CONCERN FOR THE TAF PERIOD WILL BE THE APPROACH OF A STRONG COLD TOWARDS DAWN. THERE MAY BE SOME ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS MOVING ACROSS THE AREA IN THE PREDAWN HOURS...HOWEVER THE MAIN LINE OF STORMS SHOULD BE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING AFTER 12Z. THE BEST CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS AND THE BULK OF THE RAINFALL WILL BE PRE FRONTAL AND WILL BE FUELED BY THE STRONG LOW LEVEL JET. STORMS WILL BE GENERALLY SCATTERED. THE BIG WIND SHIFT WILL COME AFTER THE MAIN BAND OF PRECIPITATION HAS MOVED THROUGH THE AREA. THE LOW CLOUDS SHOULD HANG IN AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE THROUGH THE END OF THE TAF PERIOD. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JJ LONG TERM...WJM AVIATION...JJ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 927 PM EST THU FEB 26 2009 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-271300- FLEMING-MONTGOMERY-BATH-ROWAN-ESTILL-POWELL-MENIFEE-ROCKCASTLE- JACKSON-PULASKI-LAUREL-WAYNE-MCCREARY-WHITLEY-KNOX-BELL-HARLAN- ELLIOTT-MORGAN-JOHNSON-WOLFE-MAGOFFIN-FLOYD-LEE-BREATHITT-KNOTT- OWSLEY-PERRY-CLAY-LESLIE-LETCHER-MARTIN-PIKE- 927 PM EST THU FEB 26 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE TONIGHT WITH OCCASIONAL WIND GUSTS OF 35 TO 40 MPH. THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT...MAINLY IN AREAS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 64 AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 75. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE AREA. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY CONTAIN WIND GUSTS OF 40 MPH. A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW IS POSSIBLE ON SATURDAY WHICH WILL THEN TURN TO ALL SNOW SATURDAY NIGHT...WITH SNOW POSSIBLE INTO SUNDAY EVENING. SOME SNOW ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED...ALTHOUGH AT THIS TIME IT IS TOO EARLY TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH SNOW WILL OCCUR. THE WEEKEND WEATHER SITUATION SHOULD BE MONITORED CLOSELY. THE PATH AND STRENGTH OF A STORM SYSTEM FORECAST TO DEVELOP IN THE SOUTHEAST UNITED STATES WILL DETERMINE THE TYPE AND AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION THAT OCCURS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. RAY/SBH
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 56 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 10:14 UTC.
14 thunderstorm wind, 3 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was down and blocking Ky Hwy 406 in Stinnett.
A tree is down and blocking Ky Hwy 421 in Asher.
Two large trees had to be removed from roadways.
Small limbs had to be removed from the intersection of Kidville Road and Nest Egg Road.
A large tree had to be removed from Osborne Road near Mt. Sterling.
A county official observed large limbs down along Cane Creek Road.
A couple of trees were down on Highway 2016.
A tree was blown down on Highway 192 about 12 miles east of Somerset.
Two trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts on Highway 221 west.
Two trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts at the intersection of 2469 and Highland Road.
Two trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts on Highway 192.
One tree was blown down near Highway 30.
One tree was blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts on Highway 522 in Putney.
Large limbs were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts.
A tree was blown down on Becks Creek Road.
A couple of trees were blown down near Highway 1223 on Campbell Road.
Two trees were blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts on Highway 406. Two more trees were blown down on Highway 421.
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, February 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: 152994, 152995, 152996, 152991, 152992, 152993, 152999, 153000, 153001, 153002, 153003, 153004, 153005, 153006, 153007, 153008, 153009.