During the overnight and early morning hours of Monday, June 20th, numerous strong to severe thunderstorms wreaked havoc on portions of eastern KY. Between 2 and 5 am EDT, numerous trees were blown across Laurel, Bell, Knox, and Whitley counties.
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.
During the overnight and early morning hours of Monday, June 20th, numerous strong to severe thunderstorms wreaked havoc on portions of eastern KY. Between 2 and 5 am EDT, numerous trees were blown across Laurel, Bell, Knox, and Whitley counties. The real problems began around 5 am EDT, when historical flash flooding began to occur. Parts of Bell and Knox were completely devastated as area creeks and streams quickly over topped their banks, flooding the surrounding countryside. The hardest hit areas were Kay Jay, Trosper, and Warren Camp in Knox county and Middlesboro in Bell county. Dozens of homes were heavily damaged or destroyed by the raging flood waters. One death was attributed to the flooding. Anywhere from 3-8 inches of rain fell between 2 and 7 am EDT across Knox and Bell counties. Flooding continued to occur across several other counties of eastern KY, with Breathitt county seeing the most widespread flooding between 9 and 11 am EDT. The floods caused estimated damages in the millions of dollars.
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 Jun 19, 7:20 PM EST, 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 820 PM EDT SUN JUN 19 2011 .SHORT TERM.../THE REST OF TONIGHT/...UPDATED WILL BE UPDATING THE ZONES TO REMOVE THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH AND TORNADO WATCH. STRONGEST STORMS APPEAR TO BE TRACKING JUST TO THE SOUTH OF OUR AREA. HOWEVER...CAN NOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED STORM IN THE SOUTH OVER THE NEXT HOUR OR SO SHOULD AN OUTFLOW TRACK NORTHWARD INTO OUR CWA. OTHERWISE...WILL ADJUST ISC GRID ELEMENTS...TEMPS ETC. FOR LATEST HOURLY TRENDS. WARM FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL SHIFT SLOWLY NORTHWARD OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. SO CAN NOT RULE OUT ADDITIONAL SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY OVERNIGHT WITH THE BOUNDARY JUST TO OUR SOUTHWEST. EXPECT TO REDUCE POPS EARLY ON BUT PLAN ON KEEPING AT LEAST A SOLID CHANCE POP GOING LATER TONIGHT AS THE BOUNDARY BEGINS TO MAKE A MORE PRONOUNCED SHIFT BACK TO THE NORTH AND EAST. UPDATED PRODUCTS OUT SOON. THE PREVIOUS SHORT TERM FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... /TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT/ MAIN FOCUS WAS ON THE COMPLICATED SITUATION GOING ON EARLY IN THE PERIOD. TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR OUR TENNESSEE BORDER COUNTIES. THE AIRMASS IS DESTABILIZING QUICKLY ACROSS FAR SOUTHERN KENTUCKY AS HOLES ARE DEVELOPING IN THE OVERCAST. UNUSUALLY STRONG WIND FIELD SOUTH OF THE MCV SWIRLING NEAR CVG WILL CONTINUE TO ADVECT WARM...MUGGY AIRMASS NORTHWARD INTO OUR AREA THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE AFTERNOON. FEEL THE GREATEST THREAT FOR ADDITIONAL SEVERE WEATHER IS TO OUR SOUTH. HOWEVER...WANTED TO INCLUDE OUR EXTREME SOUTHERN COUNTIES IN THE TOR WATCH AS A BUFFER WITH STORMS ALREADY SKIRTING THE TENNESSEE BORDER. TO THE NORTH OF THE WATCH...NOT SURE HOW UNSTABLE WE CAN GET TODAY BUT STILL EXPECT AT LEAST SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO REDEVELOP OVER THE NEXT 2 TO 4 HOURS AS A VORT LOBE ROTATES IN FROM THE WEST. WILL ALSO PLAN TO KEEP THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH AS IS THROUGH THE REST OF THE DAY TODAY. NO PROBLEMS NOTED SO FAR...BUT GROUND IS SATURATED NOW SO ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL MAY START TO CAUSE PROBLEMS. THE 12Z MODELS ARE IN GOOD RELATIVE AGREEMENT TRACKING THE MCV OFF TO THE EAST INTO WEST VIRGINIA DURING THE EVENING HOURS. SUBSIDENCE BEHIND THIS FEATURE AND THE NORMAL NOCTURNAL DECREASE IN SURFACE BASED INSTABILITY SHOULD BRING ABOUT A DECREASE IN SHOWER/TSTORM ACTIVITY. HOWEVER...A WARM FRONT WILL BE IN THE PROCESS OF SLOWLY LIFTING NORTHEAST THROUGH THE AREA SO CANNOT RULE OUT A SHOWER/TSTORM AT ANY TIME TONIGHT. THIS BOUNDARY WILL CONTINUE LIFTING TO OUR NORTH ON MONDAY...SO WILL MAINTAIN A 30-40 POP FOR MOST AREAS DURING THE DAY. RIDGING BOTH AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT SHOULD FINALLY BUILD IN BY LATE MONDAY NIGHT EFFECTIVELY ENDING ANY NOTEWORTHY THREAT FOR THUNDERSTORMS BY DAWN ON TUESDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO BE PROBLEMATIC...ESPECIALLY ON MONDAY...AS THEY WILL DEPEND GREATLY ON THE AMOUNT OF CONVECTION. PROGS INDICATE A JUMP IN 850 MB TEMPS ABOVE 20C THOUGH...SO WILL GO WITH A RANGE OF HIGHS FROM THE MID 80S OVER NORTHEAST KY (WHERE SHOWERS/TSTORMS ARE MOST LIKELY) UP TO THE NEAR 90 NEAR LAKE CUMBERLAND (WHERE SHOWERS/TSTORMS ARE LEAST LIKELY). OVERNIGHT LOWS WILL REMAIN IN THE MID 60S TO NEAR 70 IN THE MUGGY AIRMASS. .LONG TERM.../TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/ THE MODELS START OUT TUESDAY MORNING IN GOOD AGREEMENT BUT QUICKLY DIVERGE AS THE GFS DROPS THE 50H/85H LOW INTO THE LOWER GT LKS AS THE ECMWF DRAWS THIS FEATURE NE INTO SRN CANADA. BY FRI MORNING THIS DIFFERENCE HAS BECOME EVEN MORE PRONOUNCED WITH THE GFS LOW OVER NRN LK MI WHILE THE ECMWF DRAWS THE CENTER OF CIRCULATION WELL TOWARDS ERN CANADA. DIFFERENCES LIKE THESE REFLECT TO THE SFC WHERE THE GFS WANTS TO PROJECT A BROADER AND SLOWER MOVING AREA OF SHRA/TSRA THRU THE COMMONWEALTH. HAVE CHOSEN TO FOLLOW THE ECMWF MORE CLOSELY DUE TO IT BEING THE MORE CONSISTENT AND BETTER VERIFYING MODEL. THE FCST THEN STARTS OUT DRY TUE MORNING AS THE WARM FNT HAS LIFTED INTO NRN OH AND WRN PA. BY WED MORNING THE FOLLOWING COLD FNT WILL HAVE MADE IT INTO ERN KY WITH A BAND OF PCPN. AS THE SFC LOW TRACKS INTO CANADA THE COLD FNT STRETCHES OUT AND BECOMES STATIONARY AS IT STALLS ON THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE MTNS. PCPN TO CONTINUE UNTIL THE FNT FINALLY MAKES THE JUMP TO THE LEE SIDE OF THE MTNS THU NIGHT. THEN BY FRI MORNING THE NEXT WARM FNT BEGINS TO LIFT THRU THE AREA SLOWLY... KEEPING PCPN IN THE FCST THRU THE WEEKEND. TEMPS WILL GENERALLY BE CLOSE TO SEASONAL WITH HIGHS IN THE LOWER 80S AND LOWS IN THE 60S. DEPENDING ON WARM SECTOR VS COLD SECTOR AS THE FNTS CROSS THE AREA WILL MAKE SLIGHT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MID 80 AND LOWER 80S. && .AVIATION.../00Z TO 24Z/ WARM SFC FRONT IS THE FOCUS FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING...SOME STRONG TO SEVERE. WITH AN UNSTABLE ATMOSPHERE EXPECT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED CLUSTERS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE TO DEVELOP ALONG THIS BOUNDARY THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT. THE WARM FRONT SHOULD LIFT FURTHER NORTHWARD TOWARDS OUR AREA MONDAY... KEEPING THE THREAT AND THEREFORE AT LEAST VCSH AND A CB GROUP GOING THROUGH THE BULK OF THE TAF FORECAST. THE OTHER CONCERN TONIGHT WILL BE FOG. EXPECT MAINLY MVFR CONDITIONS OVERNIGHT...BUT WORSE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE SHOULD WE CLEAR OUT MORE THAN CURRENTLY EXPECTED. OTHERWISE...WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE LIGHT EXCEPT STRONGER AND MORE VARIABLE IN THE VCTY OF THUNDERSTORMS. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...ABE/RAY LONG TERM....DUSTY AVIATION...RAY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 900 PM EDT SUN JUN 19 2011 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-201100- 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- 900 PM EDT SUN JUN 19 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT AS A WARM FRONT BEGINS TO SHIFT NORTHWARD TOWARDS THE AREA. A FEW STORMS MAY BECOME STRONG AND PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS. IN ADDITION...SOME STORMS MAY PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN CAUSING SOME MINOR NUISANCE FLOODING...ESPECIALLY LOW WATER CROSSINGS. ANY HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO CAUSE SIGNIFICANT PONDING OF WATER ON AREA ROADS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...AND AGAIN TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. RAY
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 618 PM EDT SUN JUN 19 2011 KYZ107-110-119-120-192245- JOHNSON-MARTIN-FLOYD-PIKE- 618 PM EDT SUN JUN 19 2011 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM TO AFFECT THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES THROUGH 645 PM EDT SUNDAY EVENING... SOUTHEASTERN JOHNSON... CENTRAL MARTIN... EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL FLOYD AND EXTREME NORTH CENTRAL PIKE. AT 617 PM EDT...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WAS LOCATED NEAR THELMA...OR NEAR PAINTSVILLE...MOVING EAST AT 35 MPH. LOCATIONS AFFECTED INCLUDE...BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO...DAVISPORT AROUND 630 PM EDT...PEVIER AROUND 635 PM EDT...ANDY AROUND 640 PM EDT...BEAUTY AROUND 645 PM EDT... RESIDENTS CAN EXPECT UP TO ONE INCH OF RAIN...GUSTY WINDS OF 40 TO 50 MPH AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING IN THESE AREAS. AR
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 117 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:01 UTC.
26 flash flood, 10 heavy rain, 6 thunderstorm wind, 4 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter reported that 3.51 inches of rain had fallen since 9 pm on Sunday evening. The bulk of the rain had fallen since midnight.
A four hour rainfall total of 4.33 inches was reported in Bryants Store.
Several trees were blown down.
Trees were blown down on Old Way Rd.
The Yellow Creek RAWS site measured a three hour rainfall total of 3.05 inches.
A rainfall total of 4.42 inches was measured by the Middlesboro Bell county Airport AWOS between 235 and 635 am, with 1.88 inches of that rain falling between 535 and 635 am.
The airport in Middlesboro received 7.11 inches of rainfall in about 6 hours during the overnight and early morning hours of June 20th.
A tree was blown down on Hardbell Station Rd near the Wasioto golf course.
It was reported that 5.71 inches of rain had fallen near Middlesboro between 3 and 725 am, with 1.26 inches of that total accumulating between 625 and 725 am.
Trees were blown down on Hwy 1809.
Motorists were stranded in their cars along 92E about 1 mile from the Bell county line. The dispatcher reported that water rescues were in progress.
Dispatch reported that several feet of water was flowing over KY 255 and that the road had been closed as a result of the flooding. The flood water had also moved homes off of their foundations around Barbourville.
Residents of a home on Jones Town Road south of Kayjay awoke around 5 am EDT on June 20th to find over 2 feet of flood water in their home. The front door could not be opened due to the pressure of the water against it, so the two people, along with their dog, were forced to escape through a window.
Two other residents of Kayjay were trapped in their home for a period of time as it floated along KY 225 during the height of the June 20th flash flood. The house sustained heavy damage along with many of the owners belongings.
A Kayjay man was killed when flood waters swept the trailer he and his mother lived in away and smashed it against a bridge downstream. The man's mother survived and was rescued some time later.
Twenty seven homes were destroyed during the June 20th flash flood in Kayjay.
Numerous roads were under water throughout Middlesboro, including 35th, 19th, and 25A. A spotter reported that at least 3-4 inches of rain had fallen overnight.
About 4 inches of water were flowing across KY 25E near the mall. Numerous roads throughout Middlesboro were under water.
Three miners were trapped in a mine when flood waters began rushing into the shaft they were working in. The men were trapped for 14 hours before they were able to be rescued.
Sixty to ninety trees were blown down on Hwy 92E near the Knox county line.
Driveways of several residences were washed out into the roadway at Red Lick.
A volunteer weather observer measured 3.14 inches of rainfall in Mount Sterling between 7 and 1015 am.
A volunteer weather observer reported that 3.05 inches of rain had fallen in Hazard since 7 am.
Several roads were still closed in and near Middlesboro due to flooding. Multiple water rescues were underway as well.
A couple of feet water was seen flowing across Hwy 476 at the Hardburly exit. Bulan-Hiner Road was also closed due to flooding.
Parts of Old Pineville Pike, Cumberland Ave, and 25th St were severely flooded in Middlesboro. By midmorning, the Cumberland Gap Tunnel was closed and parts of Hwy 25E were impassable. The Binghamton area of Middlesboro was also under water, with many residents having to use boats to navigate the flooded streets.
Culverts were overflowing due to heavy rainfall in and around Campton. Water was over roads at Wolfe Lake, 191 between Stillwater and Campton, Plummers Creek Road, and Johnson Road.
Brush Creek remained out of it's banks flooding KY 225 and other roadways in the area through most of the day.
Several trees were blown down on Hwy 119 near Little Cowan Creek.
An inch of rain fell in 30 minutes in Jackson. A total of 2.25 inches of rain had fallen in Jackson since the previous day.
A car drove into flood waters near the BP station in downtown Jackson.
Bridge Hollow Road was impassable due to flash flooding.
Flash flooding was occurring along Watts Rd in Watts.
Hwy 541 and most of the side roads off of Hwy 541 were affected by flash flooding.
Robinson Fork was closed due to flash flooding.
Belcher Fork Road was impassable due to flash flooding.
Millers Branch had left its banks and was at the bottom of the bridge going over Hwy 52 in Elkatawa.
Knee deep water was seen flowing over Pigeon Roost Road. Residents were stranded.
Highway 460 was closed due to flash flooding in Means.
Harveyton Road was closed.
The road at Typo was closed due to flash flooding.
Lower Second Creek Rd was closed northwest of Hazard.
Sixteen Mile Creek Road was closed 9 miles northwest of Hazard.
A bridge was washed out on Paw Paw Creek Road south of Beattyville. In fact, several roads in Lee county were damaged due to flash flooding on June 20th. The governor of Kentucky declared a state of emergency in Lee county.
Significant damage occurred to roads in the Brushy Creek, Wide Creek, Paw Paw, and Primrose Lane areas in the June 20th flash floods. Kentucky Hwy 52S was also heavily damaged in the Sharp Rock area when the hillside below the road collapsed and slid away.
Streams were observed over roads and bridges in Rockholds. The event occurred between 129 and 144 pm.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Knox | 2011-06-20 | 55 | Male | Mobile/Trailer Home | Direct |
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, June 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: 320181, 317136, 317113, 317118, 317123, 317137, 325412, 317119, 317138, 317121, 317130, 317135, 325454, 325455, 325459, 325463, 317126, 317131, 325509, 317122, 320178, 320188, 321403, 320182, 320184, 325401, 320183, 339276, 320186, 320189, 320187, 320190, 320191, 320192, 320193, 320194, 320196, 320197, 320199, 320201, and more.