Thunderstorms with intense lightning and torrential rain developed in a southerly flow of moist and unstable air ahead of a cold front over central Missouri and central Illinois.
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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 with intense lightning and torrential rain developed in a southerly flow of moist and unstable air ahead of a cold front over central Missouri and central Illinois.
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 Jul 11, 5:31 AM CST, 3 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 631 AM CDT SAT JUL 11 2009 .UPDATE... UPDATED AVIATION SECTION FOR 12Z TAF ISSUANCE. && .DISCUSSION /ISSUED 330 AM CDT SAT JUL 11 2009/... FORECAST CONTINUES RATHER MUDDLED WITH THIS PACKAGE ISSUANCE. MESOSCALE BAROCLINIC /THERMAL/ INTERACTIONS BETWEEN AND AROUND GROWING/DECAYING CONVECTIVE SYSTEMS ALONG AND TO THE N OF A SURFACE FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL COMPLICATE MATTERS. AFOREMENTIONED FRONT WILL EASE SOUTH TOWARD NRN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA THIS TODAY... AND THIS IS WHERE STORMS WILL BE MORE LIKELY /ALONG THE I 64 CORRIDOR/. GIVEN DRY LOW LEVEL SOUNDING PROGS...COULD BE SOME DAMAGING WIND GUSTS IN ANY STRONGER CONVECTION. FRONT WILL LIKELY BECOME STATIONARY NEAR/ALONG THE OH RIVER THIS WEEKEND AS MID LVL SHORT WAVES PROPAGATE SE IN H50 NW FLOW REGIME. TIMING OF THESE RIPPLES OF ENERGY ALONG THE FRONT WILL NOT BE AN EASY TASK. ONE SUCH WAVE SHOULD PROPAGATE INTO THE REGION THIS EVENING...ENHANCING STORM CHCS ALONG THE FRONT. THEN...GFS/ECMWF BRING A MORE DEFINED FEATURE SE ACROSS THE REGION SUNDAY NIGHT. HOWEVER...THE MODELS DISAGREE ON THE SFC FRONTAL POSITION BY THAT TIME. THE GFS TAKES THE CONVECTIVE COMPLEX FARTHER NE THAN THE ECMWF...WHICH BRINGS IT RIGHT OVER THE QUAD STATE. WILL MAINTAIN HIGH CHC POPS FOR NOW...AND POSSIBLY LET THE DAY SHIFT HONE IN ON TIMING LOCATION IF MODEL TRENDS CONVERGE ON A SOLUTION. WHERE THE STORMS DO FORM...SHOULD BE ENOUGH SHEAR ALOFT TO RAISE A CONCERN FOR BOW SEGMENTS AND DAMAGING WINDS. FRONT WILL BE IN NO HURRY TO LEAVE THE REGION MONDAY EITHER...SO WILL NEED TO CONTINUE CHC POPS FOR THEN TOO. FINALLY LOOKS AS THOUGH THE MID LEVEL RIDGE BRINGING SEVERE HEAT TO THE SRN PLAINS/TX WILL BUILD NE TUE/WED TIME FRAME...SO SHOULD SEE THE FRONT LIFT OR WASH OUT IN THAT TIME FRAME. THIS WILL LEAD TO DECREASING POPS AND INCREASING HEAT AS WE HEAD INTO MID WEEK. && .AVIATION... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH HEAVY RAINFALL...EXPECTED AT THE TAF SITES MAINLY FROM LATE MORNING AND THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED A MAJORITY OF THE TAF PERIOD...EXCEPT MVFR CIGS AND MVFR TO EVEN IFR VSBYS POSSIBLE WITH ANY SHOWERS OR STORMS. LIGHT SOUTH WINDS WILL BECOME SOUTHWEST AND INCREASE TO 8 TO 12KTS WITH SOME HIGHER GUSTS BY LATE MORNING. DECREASING THUNDERSTORM CHANCES AND WINDS EXPECTED AFTER 01Z. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && MEFFERT/RST
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 818 AM CDT SAT JUL 11 2009 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-121000- 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- 818 AM CDT SAT JUL 11 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 SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT...ALONG AND EAST OF A LINE FROM PINCKNEYVILLE AND ANNA ILLINOIS...ONWARD TO FULTON KENTUCKY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...WHICH MAY PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING...AS WELL AS DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERNS. HOWEVER...AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. IN ADDITION...ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT DEVELOPS DURING THIS TIME FRAME WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING FREQUENT AND DEADLY LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A SLIGHT RISK FOR SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERNS. AN ISOLATED TORNADO CANNOT BE RULED OUT. IN ADDITION... ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT DEVELOPS DURING THIS TIME FRAME WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND FREQUENT DEADLY LIGHTNING. A SMALL CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS PART OF THE OUTLOOK AREA MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. AT THIS TIME...THE PROBABILITY OF WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS LOW. MORE HUMID CONDITIONS WILL RETURN TO THE AREA NEXT TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX READINGS ARE LIKELY TO RISE INTO THE 100 TO 105 DEGREE RANGE DURING THIS TIME PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED TODAY AND AGAIN ON SUNDAY. SMITH
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
902 AM CDT SAT JUL 11 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0902 AM HEAVY RAIN ANNA 37.46N 89.24W
07/11/2009 M2.41 INCH UNION IL CO-OP OBSERVER
TOTAL RAINFALL SINCE BEGINNING OF STORMS THIS MORNING.
&&
SMITTYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
922 AM CDT SAT JUL 11 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0920 AM FLASH FLOOD WALTONVILLE 38.21N 89.04W
07/11/2009 JEFFERSON IL LAW ENFORCEMENT
HIGHWAY FLOODING REPORTED ALONG HIGHWAY 148 NEAR
WALTONVILLE AND ALONG HIGHWAY 15 NEAR WOODLAWN.
&&
SMITTYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
931 AM CDT SAT JUL 11 2009
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0918 AM HEAVY RAIN CARBONDALE 37.72N 89.22W
07/11/2009 M4.50 INCH JACKSON IL CO-OP OBSERVER
OBSERVER REPORTED 4.5 INCHES OF RAIN OVER PAST 3 HOURS.
DITCHES IN FRONT OF HOUSE OVERFLOWING...BETWEEN 2.5 AND 3
FEET DEEP...ONTO SIDEWALKS.
&&
SMITTYThe Paducah radar (KPAH), 0 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:00 UTC.
1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.
A lightning strike damaged the taxiway at Barkley Regional Airport. The lightning left a small pit or pock mark in the pavement, and pieces of asphalt were scattered around.
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, July 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: 178379.