Thunderstorms developed along and north of a weak quasi-stationary front that extended from southern Missouri across the Lower Ohio Valley. Though vertical wind shear profiles were unfavorable for organized severe storm development, the hot surface air mass and steep low level lapse rates created the potential for isolated damaging winds with the strongest storms.
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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 PAH wrote it up.
Thunderstorms developed along and north of a weak quasi-stationary front that extended from southern Missouri across the Lower Ohio Valley. Though vertical wind shear profiles were unfavorable for organized severe storm development, the hot surface air mass and steep low level lapse rates created the potential for isolated damaging winds with the strongest storms. An isolated severe storm caused minor wind damage.
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, 11:58 AM CST, 1 hour 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1258 PM CDT SAT JUL 30 2011 .DISCUSSION... NOT ALOT TO CHANGE WITH MODELS ALL SHOWING THE SAME BASIC SCENARIO. CHANCE OF SCATTERED STORMS TODAY WILL BE A MAINLY DIURNAL ONE. VISIBLE SATELLITE SHOWS ALREADY REVEALING EFFECTS OF HIGH PRESSURE DOMING TO OUR WEST...WHICH MAY RESULT IN US STARTING TO SEE SOME CAPPING OFF OF THE ATMOSPHERE. STILL LINGERING BOUNDARIES TO OUR NORTH AND SOUTH COULD STILL PRODUCE RIM-FIRE THOUGH...POSSIBLY BLEEDING INTO FA...SOMETHING TO MONITOR. DOMING OF HIGH CONTINUES TOMORROW AND BY MONDAY SHOULD PRECLUDE CONVECTIVE CHANCES TIL LATER IN WORKWEEK. RESULT WILL BE REIGNITION OF HEAT/HUMIDITY APPROACHING ADVISORY CRITERIA...PRETTY MUCH ANY TIME OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS BUT ESPECIALY BY TUE-WED AT LEAST IN ITS AREAL EXTENT OF COVERAGE OVER THE FA. LATER IN THE WORKWEEK...THE HIGH DIRTIES SOMEWHAT AS SOME UPPER FLOW TRANSITIONARY ACTIVITY WORKS ACROSS THE UPR MS VALLEY. THIS COULD LEAD TO REINTRODUCTION OF SCATTERED POPS FOR OUR AREA...FOR NOW JUST WENT WITH SLGT CHANCE 20S MENTIONED COVERING DAYS 6-7 (THU-FRI) TIME FRAME. && .AVIATION... SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL OCCUR THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. ALL FORECAST TERMINALS MAY EXPERIENCE THE EFFECTS OF A THUNDERSTORM FOR A FEW HOURS...WITH SOMEWHAT BETTER CHANCES OVER THE WESTERN TERMINALS /KCGI AND KPAH/. PREVAILING CEILINGS SHOULD TRANSITION TO VFR WHERE THEY HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO...BUT MAY BE TEMPORARILY REDUCED TO MVFR UNDERNEATH THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND BRIEF GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. REMNANT CIRRUS WILL LINGER INTO THE EVENING. MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND CALM WINDS SHOULD RESULT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MVFR FOG OVERNIGHT...WHICH MAY BE REDUCED TO A PERIOD OF IFR NEAR DAYBREAK SUNDAY. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT AND VARIABLE...EXCEPT IN THE VICINITY OF THUNDERSTORMS. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 423 AM CDT SAT JUL 30 2011 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- 423 AM CDT SAT JUL 30 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TODAY...MAINLY EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. A STRAY STORM MAY BRIEFLY PULSE UP TO PRODUCE AN ISOLATED AREA OF DAMAGING WINDS...BUT THE PRIMARY CONCERN WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. HEAT INDICES MAY BRIEFLY TOP OUT NEAR 100 EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TODAY BEFORE THUNDERSTORMS DEVELOP. OVER MUCH OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI HEAT INDICES FROM 100 TO 105 CAN BE EXPECTED FOR MUCH OF THE AFTERNOON. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY A SMALL CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS FORECAST FOR SUNDAY. A STRAY STORM MAY BRIEFLY PULSE UP TO PRODUCE AN ISOLATED AREA OF DAMAGING WINDS...BUT THE PRIMARY CONCERN WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. HEAT INDICES WILL TOP OUT AROUND 100 DEGREES OVER MUCH OF THE AREA EACH AFTERNOON. THE WORST CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY WHEN PORTIONS OF THE AREA MAY REACH 105 DEGREES. A SMALL CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IS FORECAST THROUGHOUT THE AREA THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. AT THIS TIME SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. DRS
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 141 PM CDT SAT JUL 30 2011 ILZ080-301930- PERRY IL- 141 PM CDT SAT JUL 30 2011 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR PERRY COUNTY IN SOUTH CENTRAL ILLINOIS UNTIL 230 PM CDT... AT 137 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A STRONG THUNDERSTORM CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DIME SIZE HAIL...AND VERY STRONG WINDS AROUND 50 MPH. THIS STORM WAS LOCATED 7 MILES NORTH OF CUTLER...MOVING EAST AT 25 MPH. LOCATIONS THAT MAY BE IMPACTED INCLUDE WILLISVILLE...PINCKNEYVILLE... TAMAROA...ST. JOHNS AND DU QUOIN. THIS STORM WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN AS WELL...WHICH MAY RESULT IN STANDING WATER ON AREA ROADS. WATER LEVELS IN SMALL CREEKS...STREAMS AND IN DITCHES MAY RISE QUICKLY...ESPECIALLY IN POOR DRAINAGE AREAS.
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 125 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:09 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A small metal storage shed was blown onto a garage roof. Trees and large limbs were blown down.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, July 2011
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: 340273.