Thunderstorms developed in the vicinity of a surface front extending westward from central Kentucky into far southern Illinois. The air mass became very unstable in this region, where mixed layer CAPES were from 3000 to 4000.
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.
Thunderstorms developed in the vicinity of a surface front extending westward from central Kentucky into far southern Illinois. The air mass became very unstable in this region, where mixed layer CAPES were from 3000 to 4000. Strengthening deep layer wind shear supported organized severe storms as the activity spread east-southeast.
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 Jun 17, 2:37 AM CST, 10 hours 58 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 337 AM CDT WED JUN 17 2009 .DISCUSSION... MAIN SHORT-TERM CHALLENGE IS DETERMINING HOW MUCH CONVECTION WILL FIRE OVER THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS. THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE OVER THE PLAINS TONIGHT IS MUCH LESS THAN THE PAST FEW NIGHTS...SO OUR RAIN CHANCES LATE TONIGHT INTO THE MORNING HOURS SHOULD REMAIN MUCH LOWER THAN PREVIOUS DAYS. WILL HAVE TO MONITOR ISOLATED ACTIVITY TRYING TO DEVELOP ON THE NOSE OF A WEAK LOW-LEVEL JET OVER EASTERN KANSAS AND WESTERN MISSOURI IN CASE IT SPREADS THIS WAY. OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS...AN UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHERN PLAINS WILL BUILD EASTWARD INTO THE MIDDLE MISSISSIPPI AND LOWER OHIO VALLEYS. STRONG SUBSIDENCE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS RIDGE SHOULD HELP TO LIMIT DAYTIME THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT TODAY...AND COMPLETELY ELIMINATE ANY DEVELOPMENT ON THURSDAY. LATEST 4KM AND 12KM NAM-WRF RUNS DEVELOP WIDELY SCATTERED CONVECTION IN AN ARC FROM THE TENNESSEE VALLEY NORTHWESTWARD ACROSS WESTERN KENTUCKY AND THE MISSOURI BOOTHEEL THIS AFTERNOON...PERHAPS ALONG A WEAK CONVERGENCE ZONE. THE ACTIVITY QUICKLY DECAYS WITH THE LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING BY EVENING. AS A RESULT...OUR POPS ARE SLIGHTLY HIGHER OVER WESTERN KENTUCKY...WITH JUST SLIGHT CHANCES ELSEWHERE EXCEPT THE MISSOURI OZARK FOOTHILLS WHERE THE CAPPING INVERSION WILL BE THE STRONGEST. TONIGHT...MOST MODELS DEVELOP CONVECTION OVER THE MID MISSOURI VALLEY AND SLIDE IT EAST OVERNIGHT. 00Z RUNS OF BOTH THE 12KM NAM AND 40KM GFS HINT THAT SOME OF THIS ACTIVITY MAY SLIDE INTO FAR NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA OVERNIGHT...SO WE MAINTAINED SMALL CHANCES THERE. SOMEWHAT BOTHERSOME IS THE STRONG MCS THE NCAR 3KM WRF-ARW BRINGS INTO THE FORECAST AREA LATE THIS EVENING AFTER ORIGINATING THE SYSTEM JUST NORTHWEST OF KANSAS CITY. WILL CONSIDER THIS PARTICULAR SOLUTION AN OUTLIER AT THIS TIME...BUT A LOOK AT FUTURE RUNS MAY BE ADVISABLE. ANY ACTIVITY THAT AFFECTS THE AREA LATE TONIGHT MAY LINGER OVER THE EVANSVILLE AREA THURSDAY...ESPECIALLY EARLY IN THE DAY...SO WE MAINTAINED SLIGHT CHANCES THERE FOR TOMORROW. ONCE THE RIDGE TAKES HOLD...THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL CERTAINLY COMBINE TO MAKE CONDITIONS QUITE UNCOMFORTABLE. AFTER REACHING THE UPPER 90S TODAY...HEAT INDICES ARE FORECAST TO REACH THE CENTURY MARK THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. WHILE THIS IS JUST SHY OF OUR HEAT ADVISORY CRITERIA...WE WILL CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT THE INTRODUCTION TO SUMMER IN THE HWO AND BY HEADLINING THE ZFP. THE NEXT CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT ALONG AND IN ADVANCE OF THE NEXT FRONTAL SYSTEM. AFTER A COUPLE DAYS OF GFS/ECMWF RUN-TO-RUN CONTINUITY...THE 00Z VERSIONS OF BOTH MODELS HAVE SHED SOME UNCERTAINTY ON WHETHER THE FRONT WILL MAKE IT COMPLETELY THROUGH THE AREA...OR WHETHER IT WILL EVEN GET HERE AT ALL...PRESUMABLY DUE TO THE INFLUENCE OF THE UPPER RIDGE TO OUR SOUTH. INSTEAD OF MAKING A RADICAL CHANGE NOW...WE WILL AWAIT LATER MODEL RUNS TO EITHER CONFIRM OR DENY THIS CHANGE. && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED MUCH OF TODAY. COULD SEE SOME MVFR FOG FORMATION EARLY MORNING...ESPECIALLY IN AREAS WHERE SKIES STAY CLEAR. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE...MAINLY AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING HOURS. HOWEVER...THE SCATTERED NATURE OF THE STORMS PRECLUDE EXPLICIT MENTION IN THE TAF. WILL GO WITH CB MENTION FOR NOW. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && PUBLIC.....PRESLEY AVIATION...MEFFERT
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 510 AM CDT WED JUN 17 2009 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-181000- 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- 510 AM CDT WED JUN 17 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 SMALL CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY...ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. A FEW OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME SEVERE...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT DEVELOP TODAY SHOULD DISSIPATE BY EVENING. ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT OVER THE MISSOURI VALLEY MAY IMPACT NORTHERN PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AND SOUTHWEST INDIANA LATE TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY HOT...HUMID AIR IS FORECAST TO SPREAD ACROSS THE REGION THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. MAXIMUM HEAT INDEX VALUES BOTH AFTERNOONS MAY BE AROUND 100 DEGREES. THIS WILL BE THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT WAVE OF HEAT TO AFFECT THE REGION THIS SEASON. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS A COLD FRONT MAKES ITS WAY THROUGH THE QUAD STATE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS A POSSIBILITY TODAY...AND MORE LIKELY LATE FRIDAY. RJP
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 134 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009 KYZ015-016-021-171945- WEBSTER-HOPKINS-MUHLENBERG- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...DIXON...MADISONVILLE...GREENVILLE 134 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009 AT 130 PM...PADUCAH RADAR SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS BETWEEN CENTRAL CITY AND DRAKESBORO IN EASTERN MUHLENBERG COUNTY. INTENSE RAINFALL OF ALMOST 2 INCHES PER HOUR MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY SMALL HAIL OR GUSTY WINDS. MORE SCATTERED STORMS STRETCHED FURTHER WEST TOWARD PROVIDENCE BUT THE MOST INTENSE CELL THROUGH 2 PM WILL BE EAST OF GREENVILLE.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 226 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009 KYZ010-013-015>017-020>022-172030- CRITTENDEN-CALDWELL-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-MCLEAN-MUHLENBERG- TODD- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MARION...PRINCETON...DIXON... MADISONVILLE...HOPKINSVILLE...CALHOUN...GREENVILLE...ELKTON 226 PM CDT WED JUN 17 2009 AT 225 PM...PADUCAH RADAR SHOWED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ORIENTED ALONG A LINE FROM NEAR PROVIDENCE...SOUTH AND EAST THROUGH MADISONVILLE...TO AROUND GRAHAM AND GREENVILLE. INTENSE RAINFALL OF ALMOST 2 INCHES PER HOUR MAY BE ACCOMPANIED BY SMALL HAIL OR GUSTY WINDS.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 hail, 3 heavy rain, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 funnel cloud, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Four to six inches of water were on city streets in Greenville. Minor flooding of several streets occurred in Central City.
Quarter size hail was reported between the by-pass and the downtown area.
Crops were badly damaged by hail. A field of young corn was beaten and shredded by the hail, and a wheat crop was damaged. Other damaged crops included tobacco, vegetables, and fruit.
Torrential rains occurred, with an evening rainfall amount of three inches reported by the general public.
A small tornado briefly touched down along Highway 181 halfway between the communities of Elkton and Guthrie. Numerous trees were down along Highway 181. The touchdown occurred in wooded areas and open farm fields.
Four inches of standing water was observed on the ground between Elkton and Guthrie.
A tree fell on a truck. A storage barn roof and doors were blown off.
Quarter size hail was reported on Interstate 24 at the Cadiz exit (U.S. Highway 68).
Widespread flooding was reported throughout Princeton. Several streets were impassable and closed, and water neared a few homes. A mesonet site at Princeton recorded 3.34 inches in just over three hours. Widespread street flooding occurred throughout the community of Farmersville.
Several trees were blown down.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kentucky, 2009Warnings in Kentucky, June 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: 172472, 172434, 172435, 177067, 172436, 174592, 172437, 172535, 174594, 172438, 172439, 172440, 172441, 172442, 172443, 172444, 174589, 172433, 172445.