On the night of July 18th, an isolated severe thunderstorm caused widespread tree and power line damage across a swath of Pulaski County. Most of the damage occurred within a 5 mile radius of Somerset.
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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 JKL wrote it up.
On the night of July 18th, an isolated severe thunderstorm caused widespread tree and power line damage across a swath of Pulaski County. Most of the damage occurred within a 5 mile radius of Somerset.
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 Jul 18, 8:46 PM EST, 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 946 PM EDT SUN JUL 18 2010 .SHORT TERM.../THE REST OF TONIGHT/...UPDATED REMOVED SOME EVENING WORDING FROM THE TONIGHT PERIOD OF THE ZONE FORECAST TEXT PRODUCT. ALSO INCREASED OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES BY A DEGREE OR TWO PER THE LATEST TRENDS OBSERVED IN TEMPS AND DEWPOINTS. LASTLY...DECIDED TO LOWER POPS OVERNIGHT TO THE 30-34 RANGE...BASED ON COVERAGE OF SHOWERS AND STORMS OBSERVED IN RADAR LOOPS SINCE 0Z. A STRONG STORM IS CURRENTLY MOVING SLOWLY ACROSS PULASKI COUNTY...WITH NOT MUCH GOING ON ANYWHERE ELSE ACROSS EASTERN KENTUCKY. ANOTHER COMPLEX OF INTENSE STORMS IS CURRENTLY MOVING ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY...BUT IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHETHER OR NOT THESE WILL HOLD TOGETHER LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE IT INTO THE FORECAST AREA. AN APPROACHING COLD FRONT...A DISTURBANCE IN THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE...AND A VERY WARM AND MOIST AIR MASS WILL ALL COMBINE TO SPARK SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVERNIGHT. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL WILL THE PRIMARY THREATS WITH ANY OF THE THUNDERSTORMS. THE PREVIOUS SHORT TERM FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... /TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/ THE MAIN ISSUE FOR THE PERIOD IS THE PROBABILITY AND TIMING OF PRECIP. ONGOING CONVECTIVE LINE IN SOUTHERN INDIANA AND WESTERN KENTUCKY EXTRAPOLATES TO EASTERN KENTUCKY AFTER 9 PM. THE 12Z GFS AND WRF BOTH SUGGEST CONVECTION REACHING OUR AREA LATE TONIGHT PERHAPS CLOSER TO MIDNIGHT. THERE IS SOME QUESTION AS TO HOW WELL THE CURRENT SYSTEM WILL HOLD TOGETHER DURING THE NIGHT. HAVE GONE WITH CHANCE POPS WHICH TAPER DOWN OVERNIGHT. LINGERING PRECIP COULD LAST INTO MONDAY MORNING...ESPECIALLY IN THE SOUTHEAST. DURING THE DAY MONDAY A COLD FRONT WILL BE STALLING NEAR THE OHIO RIVER...AND CAN NOT RULE OUT ADDITIONAL CONVECTION DEVELOPING. HOWEVER...MODEL GRIDDED DATA INDICATES A RELATIVE LULL IN THE WAKE OF ACTIVITY TONIGHT...AND HAVE GONE WITH ONLY SLIGHT CHANCE POPS IN THE AFTERNOON. THE NEXT INCREASED THREAT OF PRECIP APPEARS TO BE LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY AS A WAVE PASSES ALONG THE FRONT AND DRAGS IT BACK SOUTH TOWARD KY WITH A POTENTIAL FOR CONVECTIVE SYSTEMS. .LONG TERM.../TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/ MODELS WERE IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD... PARTICULARLY WITH GENERAL SYNOPTIC PATTERNS. DIFFERENCES CROP UP IN WEAK SHORT WAVE IMPULSES...OR EMBEDDED LOW AMPLITUDE SHORTWAVES IN A MAINLY ZONAL FLOW...WHICH IS PAR FOR THE COURSE. AT THE SFC...BEST DESCRIPTION WOULD BE A PERSISTENT BAROCLINIC ZONE ACROSS THE HEART OF THE OHIO VALLEY REGION...WITH A SOMEWHAT STATIONARY SFC BOUNDARY ALONG OR JUST NORTH OF THE OHIO RIVER. SO FORECAST CHALLENGE IS TIMING OF THESE DISTURBANCES THROUGH THE MAIN WESTERLIES ALOFT... ALONG THE BOUNDARY. FELT IT BEST TO RELY FAIRLY HEAVILY ON NATIONAL GUIDANCE FOR MAIN WEATHER ELEMENTS SUCH AS POPS AND SKY...WHILE ADJUSTED FOR SOME MODEL TENDENCIES WHERE THERE APPEARED TO BE BETTER THAN USUAL AGREEMENT. FOR SENSIBLE WEATHER...THERE WAS ENOUGH AGREEMENT IN SOLUTIONS WITH WHAT APPEARS TO BE A DISTURBANCE CROSSING THE REGION EARLY IN THE FORECAST WINDOW. CORRESPONDINGLY INCREASED POPS ACROSS THE ENTIRE CWA FOR WEDNESDAY. HOWEVER...RETROGRADING BERMUDA HIGH WILL CAUSE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE TO SHARPEN UP A BIT FOR DY 5/6...THU AND FRI. AS SUCH WENT WITH GRADUALLY LOWER POPS THROUGH THAT TIME FRAME AS FORECAST SOUNDINGS APPEAR TO DEVELOP A WEAK MID LEVEL CAP OVER OUR AREA. JUST AS A NOTE...MID LEVEL CAP IS WEAK AT BEST...AND MAY NOT BE STRONG ENOUGH TO QUELL ALL...MAINLY DIURNAL CONVECTION. RIDGE APPEARS TO BREAK BACK DOWN LATE IN THE PERIOD...WITH THE GFS A BIT STRONGER THAN THE ECMWF WITH ONE LAST SHORT WAVE TROUGH. SO RAMPED POPS BACK UP THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. FOR TEMPS...WITH GENERALLY ZONAL FLOW AND ONLY SMALL AMPLITUDE WAVES TO SPEAK OF...THINKING IS THAT GUIDANCE SHOULD BE PRETTY DECENT AFTER FACTORING IN LATEST THOUGHTS ON ADDITIONAL CLOUD COVER AND PRECIP. SO ONLY TWEAKED INHERITED TEMPS TOWARDS LATEST HPC GUIDANCE. && .AVIATION.../00Z TO 24Z/ VFR CONDITIONS PREVAIL...EXCEPT IN THE VICINITY OF SOME VERY ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. THERE IS A SHORT WAVE TO THE WEST OF THE AREA. THE MODELS ARE REALLY HAVING A PROBLEM GETTING THE TIMING RIGHT. WENT WITH THE NAM TO TRY AND TIME IT THROUGH. DUE TO THE TIME IF THE MORNING IT IS EXPECTED TO PASS...JUST KEPT A VCTS IN THE FORECAST. THE RADAR IS SHOWING THE SYSTEM IS STARTING TO FALL APART AND HOPEFULLY...IT WILL CONTINUE TO DO THAT AS IT APPROACHES. VALLEY FOG IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP DURING THE NIGHT...OCCURRING EARLIEST AND BECOMING DENSEST IN PLACES WHICH RECEIVE RAIN DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. ONLY EXPECT LOZ TO SEE SOME IFR FROM THIS WITH JKL AND SME JUST SEEING SOME MVFR. MY CONFIDENCE IS LOW ON THE FOG DUE TO THE CONVECTION WITH THE SHORT WAVE MOVING THROUGH THE AREA AND SOME DECENT GRADIENT WINDS THAT MAY BE ABLE TO MIX DOWN AND DESTROY ANY FOG THAT FORMS. AFTER 13Z EXPECT ALL TO BE VFR BEHIND THE UPPER TROUGH. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...HAL/AR LONG TERM....RAY AVIATION...JJ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 938 PM EDT SUN JUL 18 2010 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-200445- 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- 938 PM EDT SUN JUL 18 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT. SOME OF THESE MAY PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS AS WELL AS LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT TRACK REPEATEDLY OVER THE SAME LOCATIONS MAY RESULT IN ISOLATED FLASH FLOODING...ESPECIALLY OVER AREAS THAT HAVE SEEN RECENT HEAVY RAINFALL. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE AT TIMES MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY... ESPECIALLY NORTHEAST OF A LINE FROM STANTON...TO JACKSON...TO WHITESBURG. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY STRONG WINDS OR OCCURRENCES OF FLOODING OVERNIGHT. GEOGERIAN/AR
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 1006 PM EDT SUN JUL 18 2010 KYZ068-079-083-190230- ROCKCASTLE-PULASKI-WAYNE- 1006 PM EDT SUN JUL 18 2010 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES THROUGH 1030 PM EDT SUNDAY EVENING... WEST CENTRAL ROCKCASTLE... PULASKI AND EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL WAYNE. AT 1006 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR POINTER...OR 9 MILES WEST OF SOMERSET...MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...HOGUE AROUND 1015 PM EDT...SCIENCE HILL AROUND 1025 PM EDT... RESIDENTS SHOULD EXPECT HEAVY RAIN...WITH RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO ONE INCH PER HOUR...GUSTY WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL IN THESE AREAS. RICHEY
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 126 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:29 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in and around the city of Somerset.
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, July 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: 242732.