The residents of eastern Kentucky had to endure one more day of excessive heat and humidity on August 14th. High temperatures were again in the low to mid 90s with a heat index of around 100.
Every event with a place to put it; 19 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.
The residents of eastern Kentucky had to endure one more day of excessive heat and humidity on August 14th. High temperatures were again in the low to mid 90s with a heat index of around 100.
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 Aug 14, 9:55 AM EST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 1055 AM EDT SAT AUG 14 2010 .SHORT TERM.../THE REST OF TODAY/...UPDATED 14Z SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS A SWAMPY ENVIRONMENT CONTINUES THROUGH EAST KENTUCKY AHEAD OF A SLOWLY APPROACHING COLD FRONT AND BENEATH THE NORTHEAST FRINGE OF A RETREATING UPPER LEVEL RIDGE. THE EARLIER SPECKS OF CONVECTION HAVE DISSIPATED OR MOVED EAST OF THE CWA BUT THE ENVIRONMENT REMAINS RIPE. CAPE HAS BUILT TO 2000 J/KG OVER THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE CWA AS OF 14Z WITH JUST A BIT OF CONVECTIVE INHIBITION IN PLACE. THE AREA IS STILL LACKING A GOOD TRIGGER FOR CONVECTION THIS AFTERNOON...THOUGH THE MODEL SOUNDINGS INDICATE IT WILL REMAIN UNCAPPED. DIFFERENTIAL HEATING SHOULD BE ENOUGH FOR CELLS TO POP LATER IN THE DAY WITH GENERATED OUTFLOWS RESULTING IN RENEWED CONVECTION. AT THIS POINT DO NOT EXPECT IT TO BE AS PERVASIVE AS YESTERDAY AFTERNOON...BUT ANY STRONG STORM WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND HEAVY TO EXCESSIVE DOWNPOURS. A LACK OF WIND SHEAR ALOFT SHOULD KEEP THE SEVERE STORMS ISOLATED AT BEST FOR THE LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THE TEMPERATURES...DEWPOINTS...HEAT AND HUMIDITY ARE ALL ON TRACK FOR ANOTHER MISERABLY HOT DAY IN LINE WITH OUR EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THAT REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH 8 PM TONIGHT. LOOKING AHEAD...THIS WARNING MAY HAVE TO BE EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER 24 HOURS AS THE RELIEF PROVIDING FRONT APPEARS TO BE SLOWING FOR SUNDAY AND MAY ALLOW US TO HEAT UP INTO ADVISORY CRITERIA AGAIN...CERTAINLY THE HUMIDITY WILL REMAIN HIGH. UPDATES TO THE GRIDS AND TEXT PRODUCTS WILL BE ISSUED SHORTLY...MAINLY REFLECTING TWEAKS BASED ON LATE MORNING OBSERVATIONS AND TRENDS. THE PREVIOUS SHORT TERM FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... /TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/ THE PERSISTENT UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE TENNESSEE VALLEY WILL BREAK DOWN DURING THE PERIOD AS A STRONG TROUGH BECOMES ESTABLISHED OVER SOUTH CENTRAL CANADA. AT THE SURFACE... A COLD FRONT WILL SLOWLY INCH TOWARD THE AREA FINALLY GETTING STALLED OUT OVER EASTERN KENTUCKY SUNDAY NIGHT. TODAY LOOKS TO FEATURE WEATHER VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS... I.E. HOT AND HUMID WITH POP UP THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY LATE IN THE DAY. THERE SEEMS TO BE A LACK OF TRIGGERS FOR THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT FOR MOST OF THE AREA. HOWEVER... MODELS INDICATE SOME DEEP MOISTURE CONVERGENCE OVER THE CREST OF THE APPALACHIANS TODAY AND FAVOR OUR SOUTHEAST COUNTIES A BIT WITH THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT. THUS... KEPT HIGHEST POPS NEAR THE VIRGINIA BORDER NUDGING THEM BACK SOME OVER OUR WESTERN COUNTIES. OTHERWISE... ANOTHER DAY WITH UNCOMFORTABLY HIGH HEAT INDEX VALUES IS LIKELY. PROGS INDICATE THE 850 MB THERMAL RIDGE LAYS OVER INTO THE AREA AS HEIGHTS FALL OVER THE UPPER MIDWEST... SO PROVIDED THUNDERSTORMS DON/T GET TOO WIDESPREAD... WE SHOULD SEE SIMILAR... IF NOT SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPS TO WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IN RECENT DAYS WITH MID 90S EXPECTED FOR MOST LOCATIONS. AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX VALUES WILL PEAK IN THE 100 TO 105 DEGREE RANGE FOR MOST LOCATIONS AS WELL... SO THE EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING WILL BE CONTINUED FOR THE LONG DURATION HEAT WAVE IN PROGRESS. THE FRONT WILL INCH CLOSER TONIGHT BUT STILL REMAIN PRETTY FAR TO OUR NORTHWEST. 850 MB JET PERKS UP OVER THE BLUEGRASS INTO SOUTHERN OHIO LATE IN THE NIGHT AND THAT WILL LIKELY FORCE SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER OUR NORTHWEST COUNTIES TAPERING TO ISOLATED COVERAGE... OR JUST NOTHING... OVER OUR SOUTHEAST COUNTIES. THE FRONT WILL THEN SAG SLOWLY INTO OUR AREA BY LATE ON SUNDAY. I INHERITED LIKELY POPS FOR PARTS OF THE AREA... HOWEVER THE FRONT LOOKS RATHER DISORGANIZED AND VERY SLOW... POSSIBLY NOT ENTERING OUR FORECAST AREA UNTIL SUNDAY NIGHT. THEREFORE... POPS WERE NUDGED BACK A BIT. TEMPS WERE CORRESPONDINGLY NUDGED UPWARDS A FEW DEGREES ON SUNDAY AND HEAT INDEX VALUES MAY ONCE AGAIN THREATEN CRITERIA... BUT WILL HOLD OFF ON ANY EXTENSION TO OUR HEAT HEADLINES FOR NOW. NO WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS DESPITE PLENTY OF INSTABILITY... SHEAR WILL BE LACKING. ISOLATED DAMAGING WIND AND/OR EXCESSIVE RAINFALL EVENTS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY THUNDERSTORMS... HOWEVER. .LONG TERM.../MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY/ JUST MADE SOME MINOR TWEAKS TO THE POPS AND TEMPS AND PRETTY MUCH LEFT THE DAY SHIFT FORECAST IN TACT. THE EXTENDED IS GOING TO BE QUITE DIFFICULT BECAUSE SO MUCH IS GOING TO DEPEND ON WHERE THE FRONT STALLS AND HOW ACTIVE THE CONVECTION IS GOING TO BE ALONG THE STALLED FRONT. NO MATTER HOW WELL THE MODELS AGREE IN THIS SCENARIO...THIS IS THE TYPE OF SYNOPTIC SITUATION THE MODELS STRUGGLE WITH. THE BLOCKING RIDGE IS DISPLACED AS THE UPPER TROUGH MOVES THROUGH AND THEN THE RIDGE TRIES TO REESTABLISH ITSELF. WITH THIS TYPE OF PATTERN...I PUT MY MONEY ON THE EUROPEAN SOLUTION... HOWEVER STILL FEEL THERE IS QUITE OF BIT OF UNCERTAINTY...ESPECIALLY OUT PAST DAY 5. KEPT THE DIURNAL MAX OF POPS IN THE FORECAST EXCEPT LOWERED THE POPS IN THE EVENING TO BETTER REFLECT THE NORMATIVE DIURNAL CYCLE OF AIR MASS THUNDERSTORMS. FOR TEMPERATURES NUDGED THE FORECAST TOWARD THE BIAS CORRECTED AND ELEVATION ADJUSTED MOS GUIDANCE. FOR THE LOW TEMPERATURES...HAD TO LOWER THE VALLEYS A BIT MORE THAN THE MODELS WERE SHOWING. THE PREVIOUS LONG TERM FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... THE MODELS BEGIN THE LONG TERM PORTION OF THE FORECAST WITH FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT CONCERNING A LARGE TROUGH CUTTING THROUGH SOUTHERN CANADA AND THE NORTHERN PLAINS ON ITS WAY TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES. THIS FEATURE IS BRINGING A TEMPORARY PATTERN CHANGE TO A RIDGE WEARY TENNESSEE AND SOUTHERN OHIO VALLEYS. THIS TROUGH ROLLS INTO THE GREAT LAKES AND OVER THE OHIO VALLEY TO END THE WEEKEND AND BEGIN THE NEW WEEK. COMPARED TO THE OLD ECMWF...THE 12Z GFS IS A TAD STRONGER WITH THE TROUGH AND DOES BRING IT FURTHER DOWN INTO THE STATES ALSO SHUNTING THE RIDGE SOUTH BY MONDAY MORNING. FOR MID WEEK THE MODELS ALSO HAVE DIFFERENT HANDLING WITH THE NEXT SHORTWAVE CROSSING THE HIGH PLAINS AND HEADING TO THE MIDWEST WITH THE ECMWF MUCH MORE AMPLIFIED THAN THE GFS...WHICH KEEPS THE NORTHERN TROUGH DOMINANT. ADDITIONAL UNCERTAINTY ENTERS THE WEATHER PICTURE LATER IN THE WEEK WITH THE MODELS DEPICTING A WEAKNESS IN THE SOUTHERN RIDGE ALONG THE GULF COAST...POTENTIALLY TROPICAL AND MUCH STRONGER IN THE GFS. RIDGING THEN BUILDS BACK THROUGH THE REGION...MORE INTENSELY IN THE GFS THAN THE ECMWF. ALL THESE DIFFERENCES LEAD TO GREAT UNCERTAINTY FOR SENSIBLE WEATHER THROUGH THE LATTER PORTION OF THE FORECAST AS THE SFC FEATURES FROM EACH MODEL VARY CONSIDERABLY OVER OUR AREA. FOR NOW...HAVE CONTINUED TO FOLLOW A CONSENSUS SOLUTION BETWEEN THE OPERATIONAL GFS AND ECMWF...A SCENARIO WHICH IS ALSO SIMILAR TO HPC/S IDEAS AND FORECAST GRAPHICS. SENSIBLE WEATHER WILL FEATURE A BREAK FROM THE HEAT AS A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT DESCEND THROUGH THE CWA AND STALLS NEARLY OVERHEAD. THIS WILL CREATE A POP GRADIENT FROM SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST DURING THE BULK OF THE FORECAST. ADDITIONALLY...AN OPEN GULF AND ENHANCED MOISTURE FROM POSSIBLE TROPICAL DEVELOPMENTS WILL KEEP THE DEWPOINTS FAIRLY HIGH THROUGH THE TENNESSEE AND SOUTHERN OHIO VALLEY... PARTICULARLY IF THE OLD ECMWF SOLUTION PANS OUT. THE FRONT INITIALLY SLIDES SOUTHEAST INTO EAST KENTUCKY ON SUNDAY AND STALLS OVER OUR SOUTHERN AND EASTERN FRINGE INTO MONDAY MORNING. THIS BOUNDARY THEN WILL DRIFT BY NORTHWEST THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK MAINTAINING THE RISK OF CONVECTION OVER THE CWA. ON THE BRIGHT SIDE...THE CLOUDS AND THE MAINLY DIURNALLY DRIVEN THUNDERSTORMS WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES CLOSER TO NORMAL THROUGH THE EXTENDED AND NOT NEARLY SO OPPRESSIVE. FOR THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK SFC HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING TO THE NORTH WILL PUSH THE FRONT BACK SOUTH...PERHAPS ENOUGH TO LIMIT THE CONVECTION TO THE FAR SOUTHEAST PORTION OF THE CWA. NATURALLY...THE NEW ECMWF HAS A DIFFERENT IDEA FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY THAT WOULD SUPPORT MORE IN THE WAY OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. FOR NOW HAVE STUCK WITH A DRIER END TO THIS MOST UNCERTAIN EXTENDED FORECAST. FOR TEMPERATURES...HAVE FOLLOWED A BLEND OF THE INHERITED GRIDS AND HPC GUIDANCE THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH JUST MINOR TERRAIN BASED ADJUSTMENTS. WITH POPS...ENDED UP CLOSER TO HPC GUIDANCE THAN THE OCCASIONALLY DRIER MEX OWING TO THE UNCERTAINTY OF THE SFC FEATURES FOR MUCH OF THE EXTENDED. && .AVIATION.../12Z TO 12Z/ JUST A FEW PATCHES OF VALLEY FOG WHICH WILL BURNING OFF BY 13Z. SOME ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE TAPERING DOWN TO SHOWERS BETWEEN 13 AND 14Z AND THEN SHOULD BE PICKING UP AGAIN BETWEEN 17 AND 18Z. TEMPO IFR CIGS AND VSBY CA && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING FOR KYZ044- 050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120. && SHORT TERM...ABE/GREIF LONG TERM....GREIF/JJ AVIATION...JJ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 422 AM EDT SAT AUG 14 2010 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-151100- 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- 422 AM EDT SAT AUG 14 2010 ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL CLIMB INTO THE MID 90S OVER MOST OF THE AREA TODAY. THE HUMIDITY WILL ALSO REMAIN HIGH...PRODUCING HEAT INDICES OF 100 TO 105 FOR MOST LOCATIONS ONCE AGAIN. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP AGAIN TODAY...LINGERING INTO TONIGHT. THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL PRODUCE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS... GUSTY WINDS AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL ACCOMPANY A COLD FRONT INTO THE AREA SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. ONCE AGAIN...THE STRONGEST STORMS WILL PRODUCE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS...GUSTY WINDS AND FREQUENT CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. THE THREAT FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL THEN REMAIN IN THE FORECAST FROM MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY...FAVORING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS OF EACH DAY AS THE FRONT STALLS IN OUR GENERAL VICINITY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY OBSERVED WIND DAMAGE... FLOODING...OR RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF ONE INCH. ABE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
19 excessive heat. Local standard time, as filed.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
High temperatures ranged from 93 to 99 with heat index values of 100 to 110.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, August 2010
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: 245721, 245722, 245723, 245724, 245725, 245726, 245727, 245728, 245729, 245730, 245732, 245736, 245738, 245739, 245740, 245741, 245742, 245743, 245744.