Hail, Greenup
- When
- May 30, 5:15 PM EST
- Where
- Greenup County, Warnock
- Measured
- 0.88 in hail
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
- Coordinates
- 38.500, -82.980
Hail in Kentucky, May 30, 2009
Thunderstorms approached northeast Kentucky during the late afternoon on the 30th. The region was in a northwest flow aloft.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS RLX wrote it up.
Thunderstorms approached northeast Kentucky during the late afternoon on the 30th. The region was in a northwest flow aloft. Some of the thunderstorms strengthened, with high reflectivity cores observed on weather radar. Large hail reached the ground in a few locations.
What forecasters said that day
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 Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 30, 1:30 PM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 30, 1:30 PM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 230 PM EDT SAT MAY 30 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A LOW PRESSURE CENTER MOVES ACROSS TONIGHT. A COLD FRONT CROSSES SUNDAY MORNING. HIGH PRESSURE SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. NEXT COLD MOVES IN TUESDAY NIGHT OR WEDNESDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH SUNDAY/... SHOWERS ALONG FRONT THAT WASHED OUT ACROSS CNTRL WV TODAY HAVE NOT COMPLETELY GONE AWAY...WITH NEW SHOWERS ALREADY FORMING ALONG THIS AXIS IN THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE CWA. EXPECT ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE IN THE AFTERNOON HEATING AND IN ADVANCE OF WEAK LOW PRESSURE APPROACHING FROM W KY...ACROSS THE SW PORTION OF THE CWA...THEN WORKING E THIS EVENING. MODELS HAVE BACKED OFF ON PW VALUES AND INSTABILITY...WITH THE JUICIEST AIR TO THE W. FREEZING LEVEL AND STRENGTH OF FLOW CAN STILL SUPPORT MARGINALLY SEVERE HAIL AND WIND IN AND NEAR NE KY WHERE SLT RISK IS. USED NEWLY WRITTEN EDIT AREA FROM MODEL PARAMETER TOOL TO HELP WITH PLACEMENT AND TIMING OF HIGHEST POPS AND BEST CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS. MODELS SHOW PRECIPITATION HANGING ON A LITTLE LONGER IN THE MOUNTAINS EARLY SUNDAY MORNING AS A COLD FRONT MOVES IN FROM THE N. HIGH PRESSURE BEGINS TO BUILD INTO THE AREA BEHIND THE FRONT SUNDAY AFTERNOON BRINGING ABOUT CLEARING. GUIDANCE LOOKS REASONABLE FOR TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...WITH A BLEND WHERE DIFFERENCES SHOW UP IN A HTS-CRW-EKN AXIS SUNDAY. && .SHORT TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT/... FIRST PART OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD WILL REMAIN DRY AS UPPER LEVEL RIDGING OVER THE SE U.S. REMAINS IN CONTROL. THIS WILL CREATE MOSTLY SUNNY SKIES...WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SOME AFTERNOON CU...AND WARMER TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE REGION FOR THE FIRST PART OF THE WORK WEEK. HUMIDITY WILL ALSO BE ON THE INCREASE EARLY IN THE EXTENDED AS THE SURFACE HIGH SHIFTS TO THE EAST...AND FLOW BECOMES MORE SOUTHWESTERLY. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY/... NAM CONTINUES TO BE FASTER WITH THE FRONT NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER...HAVE CONTINUED TO TREND THE FORECAST MORE TOWARDS THE GFS WHICH IS SLOWER WITH THE BREAK DOWN OF THE RIDGE...BRINGING THE FRONT INTO THE REGION TUESDAY NIGHT/EARLY WEDNESDAY...AND THEN SLOWLY SAGGING SOUTH OF THE REGION. THIS WILL BRING A RETURN OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO THE REGION ONCE AGAIN. MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL BEGIN TO DRY OUT TOWARDS THE END OF THE WORK WEEK...ALTHOUGH HAVE CONTINUED TO MAINTAIN AT LEAST A SLIGHT CHANCE OF POPS IN THE FORECAST...MAINLY IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE CWA AND OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN...AS DISTURBANCES CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH THE FLOW. MODELS INDICATE ANOTHER FRONT MOVING INTO THE REGION AT THE END OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD. && .AVIATION /18Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... MORNING LOW STRATUS IN THE MOUNTAINS HAVE GIVEN WAY TO VFR CONDITIONS ALL AROUND. A LOW PRESSURE CENTER TO THE W WILL MOVE E ALONG THE REMNANTS OF A FRONT THAT WASHED OUT ACROSS CNTRL WV THIS MORNING. A FEW SHOWERS HAVE BEGUN TO FORM AROUND THE HTS TRI-STATE AREA AND THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE THIS AFTERNOON AS THE LOW APPROACHES. SHOWERS WILL BE MOST NUMEROUS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE AREA THROUGH THIS EVENING...WHERE A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ARE ALSO LIKELY TO FORM. BEHIND THAT SYSTEM...MVFR OR WORSE LOW CLOUD ARE LIKELY TO FORM ESPECIALLY IN PLACES WHERE IT RAINS THIS EVENING. FOG IS ALSO POSSIBLE...HAVE CONTINUED MVFR AT EKN. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...POSSIBLY KEEPING PRECIPITATION IN THE MOUNTAINS FOR A LITTLE LONGER. MORNING LOW STRATUS IS LIKELY TO AFFECT MOUNTAINS SUNDAY MORNING BUT...BY MIDDAY...VFR CONDITIONS WILL ABOUND. AVIATION OUTLOOK /BEYOND 00Z SUNDAY/... NO SIGNIFICANT WX EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. && .RLX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WV...NONE. OH...NONE. KY...NONE. VA...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...TRM/SL NEAR TERM...TRM SHORT TERM...SL LONG TERM...SL AVIATION...TRM
Hazardous weather outlook, May 30, 4:04 PM EST, 1 hour 11 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 504 PM EDT SAT MAY 30 2009 OHZ066-067-075-076-083>086-VAZ003-004-WVZ006>011-013>020-024>040-046- 047-312115- PERRY-MORGAN-ATHENS-WASHINGTON-JACKSON OH-VINTON-MEIGS-GALLIA- DICKENSON-BUCHANAN-CABELL-MASON-JACKSON WV-WOOD-PLEASANTS-TYLER- LINCOLN-PUTNAM-KANAWHA-ROANE-WIRT-CALHOUN-RITCHIE-DODDRIDGE-MINGO- LOGAN-BOONE-CLAY-BRAXTON-GILMER-LEWIS-HARRISON-TAYLOR-MCDOWELL- WYOMING-RALEIGH-FAYETTE-NICHOLAS-WEBSTER-UPSHUR-BARBOUR-POCAHONTAS- RANDOLPH- 504 PM EDT SAT MAY 30 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR SOUTHEAST OHIO...SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS COULD PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. KYZ101>103-105-OHZ087-WVZ005-312115- GREENUP-CARTER-BOYD-LAWRENCE KY-LAWRENCE OH-WAYNE- 504 PM EDT SAT MAY 30 2009 ...SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH 316 IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EDT TONIGHT... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST OHIO AND WEST VIRGINIA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. PLEASE LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR GO TO WEATHER.GOV ON THE INTERNET FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE FOLLOWING HAZARDS. SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.
In the hours before
Special weather statement, May 30, 4:07 PM EST, 1 hour 8 minutes before
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHARLESTON WV 507 PM EDT SAT MAY 30 2009 WVZ033-034-302145- MCDOWELL-WYOMING- 507 PM EDT SAT MAY 30 2009 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL AFFECT EAST CENTRAL MCDOWELL AND SOUTHEASTERN WYOMING COUNTIES... AT 505 PM EDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE METEOROLOGISTS WERE TRACKING A STRONG THUNDERSTORM LOCATED NEAR HERNDON...MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 20 MPH. WIND GUSTS TO 40 MPH AND HAIL UP TO DIME SIZE ARE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM. THIS STORM WILL BE NEAR HERNDON AROUND 515 PM. PLEASE REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BY CALLING TOLL FREE...877-633-6772...WHEN YOU CAN DO SO SAFELY. 08
The radar
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 105 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:15 UTC.
Event by event
3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail, Greenup
- When
- May 30, 5:15 PM EST
- Where
- Greenup County, 0.68 mi SSW of Greenup
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 38.571, -82.836
Hail, Lawrence
- When
- May 30, 10:41 PM EST
- Where
- Lawrence County, Charley
- Measured
- 1 in hail
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 37.970, -82.700
What these are
- Hail
- Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Wildfire in Arizona, May 30 to 31, 2009
- Tornadoes and Hail in Ohio, May 30, 2009
- Hail and Damaging Winds in West Virginia, May 30 to 31, 2009
- Lightning Strike in Wyoming, May 30, 2009
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Illinois, May 30, 2009
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, May 30, 2009
- Hail in Wyoming, May 30, 2009
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, May 30, 2009
- Hail in Kentucky, May 30, 2009
- Damaging Winds in Kentucky, May 30 to 31, 2009
- Hail in Arizona, May 30, 2009
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Michigan, May 30, 2009
More
Every storm in Kentucky in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, May 2009
Sources
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: 164404, 164406, 164410.