On the early morning hours of April 20th, a line of showers and thunderstorms moved in the Jackson CWA from the west. The line prompted the issuance of 4 severe thunderstorm warnings with most of the damage being due to high winds.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
On the early morning hours of April 20th, a line of showers and thunderstorms moved in the Jackson CWA from the west. The line prompted the issuance of 4 severe thunderstorm warnings with most of the damage being due to high winds.
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 Apr 20, 1:20 AM EST, 8 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 220 AM EDT WED APR 20 2011 .SHORT TERM.../TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY/...UPDATED 05Z SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS A DEEP AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY. A COLD FRONT TRAILS FROM THIS TO THE SOUTHWEST RUNNING ROUGHLY FROM CENTRAL INDIANA TO MID ARKANSAS. AHEAD OF THIS A POTENT QLCS SQUALL LINE IS RACING EAST WITH SEVERAL LARGE BOWS...RIPPLES OF POTENTIAL TORNADIC CELLS...AND A WELL DEFINED COLD POOL. THE SEVERE STORMS AT THE LEADING EDGE OF THE LINE HAVE BEEN PROLIFIC PRODUCERS OF WIND DAMAGE AND HIGH WIND GUSTS. DO ANTICIPATE SOME WEAKENING STILL AS IT MOVES STEADILY EAST AND INTO THE CWA. HOWEVER...ANY WEAKENING WILL LIKELY NOT BE ENOUGH TO PREVENT A SWATH OF SEVERE WIND GUSTS FROM CROSSING INTO EAST KENTUCKY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. HAVE ANTICIPATED A SEVERE WEATHER WATCH AND ADDED SEVERE WORDING TO THE WEATHER GRIDS. WILL LIKELY RUN WITH A PRE FIRST PERIOD FORECAST LINE FOR THE STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS AND THEIR PASSAGE. OTHERWISE...THE AIR MASS REMAINS MOSTLY FAVORABLE FOR SUSTAINING THE STORMS THROUGH EAST KENTUCKY WITH TEMPERATURES IN THE MID 70S AND DEWPOINTS IN THE LOW TO MID 50S...FOR THE MOST PART... DRIEST EAST WHERE SOME UPPER 40S ARE FOUND. THE EARLIER CLEAR SKIES ARE JUST ABOUT A MEMORY NOW AS HIGH AND MID LEVEL CLOUDS AHEAD OF THE QLCS APPROACHES. THE MODELS ARE IN DECENT AGREEMENT ALOFT WITH THE TROUGH QUICKLY LIFTING THROUGH THE TENNESSEE AND OHIO VALLEYS IN TANDEM WITH THE FAST FLOW ACROSS THE LAKES. WITH ITS PASSAGE THE PATTERN FLATTENS BUT REMAINS FAST OVERHEAD TONIGHT AND INTO THURSDAY. THIS WILL ALLOW ANOTHER BATCH OF ENERGY TO STREAM EAST INTO THE REGION BY EVENING ALONG WITH THE CONSEQUENCES TO THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE AND THE SENSIBLE WEATHER. FOR THE MOST PART...HAVE FOLLOWED THE NAM12/S VERSION OF EVENTS MOST CLOSELY FOR WEATHER PURPOSES...THOUGH WITH SIGNIFICANT EXTRAPOLATION BASED ADJUSTMENTS IN THE NEAR TERM WITH THIS SQUALL LINE AND ITS TRAILING COLD POOL RAINS. SENSIBLE WEATHER WILL FEATURE A STORMY START TO THE MORNING AS THE SQUALL LINE PUSHES QUICKLY INTO THE CWA. THE JUST ISSUED TORNADO BOX WILL BE INCORPORATED INTO THIS EARLY ISSUANCE OF THE ZONE PACKAGE AND THE GRIDS. THE SEVERE LINE SHOULD SLOW AND WEAKEN TO SOME EXTENT AS IT MOVES DEEPER INTO EAST KENTUCKY TOWARD DAWN. AT THE SAME TIME THE COLD FRONT WILL FOLLOW BEHIND BY A FEW HOURS. AS THE HEAVIER CONVECTION DIES DOWN AND RIDES EAST OUT OF THE AREA LATER THIS MORNING WILL ALLOW FOR A THIN LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS TO ACCOMPANY THE FRONT. WILL CONTINUE THIS IN THE EAST INTO THE AFTERNOON AND GO WITH JUST SHOWERS FOR MOST OF THE AREA AFTER SUNSET TONIGHT. ANY LINGERING SHOWERS WILL COME TO AN END EARLY IN THE NIGHT WITH SOME CLEARING SKIES AND PATCHY FOG POSSIBLE TOWARDS DAWN. FOR THURSDAY...SFC HIGH PRESSURE QUICKLY MOVING THROUGH THE OHIO VALLEY WILL MAKE FOR A PARTLY SUNNY AND COOL START TO THE DAY...WITH CLOUDS QUICKLY MOVING BACK IN FROM THE SOUTHWEST AS THE FRONT STARTS TO RETURN NORTH WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE BY LATE AFTERNOON. FOR TEMPERATURES...FOLLOWED A BLEND OF THE MET NUMBERS AND THE INHERITED GRIDS THROUGH THE SHORT TERM PORTION OF THE FORECAST. DID USE THE DIURNAL FROM MODEL TOOL FOR TEMPERATURES THROUGH THURSDAY. AS FOR POPS...ENDED UP ON THE HIGH SIDE OF MOS TODAY WITH THE LINGERING RAINS ANTICIPATED BEHIND THE SQUALL LINE. ALSO WAS PRETTY MUCH ON THE HIGH SIDE OF MOS FOR THE SOUTHEAST TONIGHT AND THE SOUTHWEST LATER THURSDAY. .LONG TERM.../THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/ MODELS CONTINUE WITH GENERALLY ZONAL FLOW WITH TRAVERSING SHORT WAVE TROUGHS TO CONTEND WITH FROM TIME TO TIME AND THESE SHORTWAVES INTERACTING WITH A BOUNDARY THAT IS PROGGED TO INITIALLY BE SOUTH OF THE AREA THEN MOVE NORTH AS LOW PRESSURE ORGANIZES AND TRACKS INTO THE GREAT LAKES BY FRI NIGHT. THE BOUNDARY SHOULD SETTLE ON AVERAGE NEAR THE OH RIVER OR PERHAPS NORTH AND REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. MODELS EVENTUALLY AMPLIFY THE PATTERN TOWARD THE END OF THE PERIOD WITH RIDGING BUILDING OVER THE EASTERN AND SOUTHEASTERN US AND THEN SHIFTING IT TO THE EASTERN SEABOARD AND MEAN TROUGHING GRADUALLY MOVING FROM THE WESTERN US AND INTO THE PLAINS AND CENTRAL US LATE IN THE PERIOD. INITIALLY...MODELS DEVELOP CONVECTION OVER THE REGION ON THU NIGHT DUE TO ISENTROPIC LIFT ACROSS THE REGION ASSOCIATED WITH THE BOUNDARY RETURNING NORTH AS A WARM FRONT. WENT WITH CHANCE TO LIKELY POPS BY LATE THU NIGHT INTO EARLY ON FRI FOR THIS. THE BOUNDARY SHOULD LIFT NORTH OF THE AREA BY LATE FRI...BUT THEN AS THE SFC LOW TRACKS TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES ADDITIONAL CONVECTION COULD WORK INTO THE REGION AS THE COLD FRONT POSSIBLY BRIEFLY SAGS INTO THE CWA. AS ADDITIONAL SHORTWAVES PASS THROUGH THE FLOW AND THE PATTERN STARTS TO AMPLIFY DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE PERIOD...THE BOUNDARY SHOULD LIFT BACK NORTH OF THE REGION WITH THE REGION SPENDING A CONSIDERABLE LENGTH OF TIME IN THE WARM SECTOR. IN FACT...A STRONGER SFC SYSTEM SHOULD BEGIN TO DEVELOP BY MON INTO TUE IN THE PLAINS WITH THE BOUNDARY SHIFTING FURTHER NORTH OF THE AREA. OVERALL...THE REGION SHOULD SPEND A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME IN THE WARM SECTOR AFTER FRI NIGHT. HAVE MAINTAINED CHANCES FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS AS TIMING UNCERTAINTY AND UNCERTAINTY IN PRESENCE OF SHORTWAVES FROM FRI NIGHT THROUGH MON AS THE BOUNDARY WAFFLES NEAR OR JUST NORTH OF THE AREA AND SURFACE WAVES COULD POTENTIALLY TRAVERSE THE BOUNDARY IN THE LOWER OHIO VALLEY. ALSO MAINTAINED SLIGHT CHANCE TO CHANCE ON MON NIGHT AND TUE AS CONVECTION COULD DEVELOP IN THE WARM SECTOR. FOR TEMPERATURES...GENERALLY STAYED ON THE DIURNALLY LIMITED SIDE OF GUIDANCE AND GENERALLY RAISED HIGH TEMPS FROM SUN THROUGH TUE IN LINE WITH RECENT WARMER MOS GUIDANCE AND HPC GUIDANCE. TEMPERATURES SHOULD AVERAGE SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .AVIATION.../06Z TO 06Z/ TWO CONCERNS FOR THE UPCOMING TAF PERIOD. BETWEEN 530 AND 7Z...LOW LEVEL WIND SHEAR WILL BE THE PRIMARY CONCERN...AS A STRONG LOW LEVEL JET STREAM PUSHES 60KT WINDS ACROSS THE OHIO AND TENNESSEE VALLEYS. WIND GUSTS OF UP TO 45 KTS WILL BE POSSIBLE AT THE TAF SITES THROUGH 7Z. BETWEEN 7 AND 12Z...A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE THE CONCERN. WIND GUSTS OF 50-60MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THESE STORMS IF THEY MAINTAIN THEIR CURRENT STRENGTH. A WELL DEFINED WIND SHIFT WILL OCCUR AROUND 21Z...AS A STRONG COLD FRONT MOVES QUICKLY ACROSS THE AREA. WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO GUST TO BETWEEN 20 AND 25KTS BETWEEN 12 AND 16Z AT THE TAF SITES. A BROKEN LAYER OF MIDDLE LEVEL CLOUDS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE AFTER 12Z. MVFR CIGS AND VSBYS WILL BE THE PREVAILING CONDITION ONCE THE THUNDERSTORMS BEGIN TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA. CONDITIONS COULD DETERIORATE TO IFR FROM TIME TO TIME WITH THE MOST INTENSE STORMS DUE TO HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WINDS. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...GREIF LONG TERM...JP AVIATION...AR
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 357 PM EDT TUE APR 19 2011 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-202300- 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- 357 PM EDT TUE APR 19 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVERNIGHT TOWARDS DAWN. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BECOME SEVERE...WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON WEDNESDAY MORNING...WITH LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY THREATS. THUNDERSTORMS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE FROM TIME TO TIME FROM THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH THE WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD REPORT ANY SEVERE WEATHER TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON. MB
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 214 AM EDT WED APR 20 2011 KYZ044-050>052-059-060-104-106-200645- FLEMING-ROWAN-BATH-ELLIOTT-MONTGOMERY-MENIFEE-POWELL-MORGAN- 214 AM EDT WED APR 20 2011 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES THROUGH 245 AM EDT WEDNESDAY MORNING... FLEMING... ROWAN... BATH... NORTHWESTERN ELLIOTT... MONTGOMERY... NORTHWESTERN MORGAN... MENIFEE AND EXTREME NORTHWESTERN POWELL. AT 214 AM EDT...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE LOCATED NEAR SIDEVIEW...OR 9 MILES EAST OF PARIS...MOVING EAST AT 60 MPH. LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...RINGOS MILLS AROUND 220 AM EDT...PLUMMERS LANDING AROUND 225 AM EDT...WALTZ AROUND 230 AM EDT...TRIPLETT AROUND 235 AM EDT...FARLEY AROUND 240 AM EDT... RESIDENTS SHOULD EXPECT VERY HEAVY RAIN...WITH RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO 1 INCH PER HOUR...GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH...FREQUENT LIGHTNING AND SMALL HAIL IN THESE AREAS. A TORNADO WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 900 AM EDT WEDNESDAY MORNING FOR EASTERN KENTUCKY. GEOGERIAN
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 73 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:26 UTC.
7 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
There were several trees down around town and one utility pole leaning.
There was a tree down near Hillsboro.
The wind was estimated to be near 70 MPH.
A small outbuilding was blown over near the Community Christian Church.
The event occurred at Triangle Mountain raws station between about 255 and 302.
There were trees down along County Park Road off of Hwy 460.
There were 2 trees blown down along Williamsburg Street.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, April 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: 296026, 296027, 296028, 296029, 296036, 296030, 296033.