An area of showers occurring northwest of a surface low pressure center over Tennessee produced a funnel cloud. The funnel cloud was unusual in that it was not associated with a thunderstorm.
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The episode as NWS PAH wrote it up.
An area of showers occurring northwest of a surface low pressure center over Tennessee produced a funnel cloud. The funnel cloud was unusual in that it was not associated with a thunderstorm.
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 30, 2:20 PM CST, 3 hours 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 320 PM CDT THU JUL 30 2009 .DISCUSSION... ANOTHER FRUSTRATING FORECAST WITH POPS/HEAVY RAINFALL THE PRIMARY CONCERN. HAVE HAD A HARD TIME GENERATING INSTABILITY DUE TO LACK OF INSOLATION TODAY. ONLY EXCEPTION IS ALONG I-64 WHERE STRONG SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED AND HAVE PRODUCED LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THIS ACTIVITY IS ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE THICKER CLOUD SHIELD...AND NEAR THE OLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY. NOT SURE HOW LONG THIS ACTIVITY WILL LINGER...BUT FEEL THAT THE RADAR FOCUS WILL SHIFT TO THE SOUTH BY SUNSET...WHERE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS ARE CURRENTLY ENTERING SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. THESE SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE A SWATH OF HEAVY RAINFALL TONIGHTACROSS THE SOUTHERN THIRD OF THE AREA IN THE DEFORMATION ZONE TO THE NORTH OF THE MCV. GIVEN THE LACK OF LIGHTNING ACTIVITY IN ARKANSAS TODAY...AND THE INABILITY TO GET DEVELOPMENT OVER SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA TODAY...WILL MENTION SHOWERS WITH A LESSER CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT. WITHOUT WIDESPREAD THUNDERSTORMS FEEL THAT THE RAIN RATES WILL NOT BE SUFFICIENT FOR FLASH FLOODING...SO WILL NOT BE ISSUING AN ADVISORY AT THIS TIME. 1-1.5 INCHES OF RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE NEAR THE TENNESSEE BORDER...BUT AM EXPECTING IT TO FALL STEADILY FOR SEVERAL HOURS. MODELS CONTINUE TO PUSH THE PRECIPITATION OUT OF THE AREA BY 12Z FRIDAY...SO HAVE REMOVED THE MORNING POP FOR TOMORROW. DRY CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...BUT THE MODELS ARE TRENDING FASTER WITH THE NEXT SYSTEM OVER THE WEEKEND. THE 12Z NAM IS AND HAS BEEN FASTER THAN THE GFS IN BRINGING NEXT ROUND OF PRECIPITATION TO THE REGION...AND WITH THE OVERALL TREND TOWARD FASTER ARRIVAL HAVE FOLLOWED IT PRETTY CLOSELY. NOW HAVE SMALL POP SATURDAY MORNING IN SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...WITH CHANCES THROUGHOUT THE AREA IN THE AFTERNOON. THIS IS IN LINE WITH HPC/S QPF FORECAST. SHOULD SEE A GOOD CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION SATURDAY NIGHT AS A COLD FRONT AND UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM MOVE THROUGH. THE GFS IS QUICK TO PUSH THE PRECIPITATION OUT OF THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT...WHILE THE NAM AND 09Z SREF LINGER IT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. GENERALLY FOLLOWED THE NAM AND LEFT A CHANCE POP IN THE SOUTHEAST SUNDAY MORNING. INTO NEXT WEEK...THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT IN KEEPING THE AREA DRY SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...BEFORE MORE POPS ENTER THE FORECAST MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...AS ANOTHER COLD FRONT SLIPS THROUGH THE REGION. THE 00Z ECMWF...WHICH IS FAVORED BY HPC...LINGERS THIS BOUNDARY NEAR THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY...AS THE UPPER RIDGE STARTS TO BUILD BACK NORTHEAST TOWARD THE REGION. THIS WILL MEAN THE POTENTIAL FOR A RETURN OF HOT WEATHER BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK...BUT ALSO A CONTINUATION OF SMALL POPS WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN BELOW NORMAL THROUGH THE WEEKEND...BEFORE A MODEST WARM UP IS FORECAST NEXT WEEK. ONCE AGAIN THIS WILL BE HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON PRECIPITATION TIMING/LOCATION. GENERALLY STAYED WITHIN RANGE OF AVAILABLE GUIDANCE THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST. && .AVIATION... PREDOMINANT PRECIP UNTIL MDNGT WITH OCNL TS ALL SITES. HAVE INTRO A FEW GUSTS THIS AFTN. KEEP CIGS MVFR ALL SITES WITH PSBL IFR FOG AND CIGS FOR A FEW HOURS AROUND SUNRISE FOR KCGI. OTHERWISE WIDESPREAD VFR BR ACROSS THE AREA. CIGS AND VSBYS WILL GO VFR AFTER 14Z FRI ALL SITES...ALONG WITH A NORTHWEST FLOW. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && PUBLIC...DRS AVIATION...KH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 355 PM CDT THU JUL 30 2009 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-311000- 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- 355 PM CDT THU JUL 30 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT A LARGE AREA OF SHOWERS WITH A FEW EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA FROM THE SOUTHWEST THROUGH SUNSET. HEAVY RAINFALL...1 TO 2 INCHES...WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE NIGHT MAINLY ACROSS WEST KENTUCKY NEAR THE TENNESSEE BORDER. THE PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO COME TO AN END FROM WEST TO EAST...AND SHOULD BE EAST OF THE AREA BY SUNRISE. SOME NUISANCE FLOODING ISSUES MAY DEVELOP FROM THE PROLONGED HEAVY RAINS...BUT SIGNIFICANT FLASH FLOODING IS NOT ANTICIPATED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS FORECAST SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...AND AGAIN FROM MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. AT THIS TIME...SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT ANTICIPATED DURING EITHER PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. HOWEVER...ANY REPORTS OF HEAVY RAINFALL OR FLOODING PROBLEMS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. DRS
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 141 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:00 UTC.
1 funnel cloud. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter observed and photographed a funnel cloud extending from a small wall cloud of a shower. The spotter watched it dissipate and reform over a 20-minute period. At times, several small vortices could be seen circling the main funnel.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Missouri in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Missouri, 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: 176547.