Numerous thunderstorms with torrential rain caused local flooding. The storms were supported by a warm front that extended east-northeast from the southern Plains across the Lower Ohio Valley.
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 PAH wrote it up.
Numerous thunderstorms with torrential rain caused local flooding. The storms were supported by a warm front that extended east-northeast from the southern Plains across the Lower Ohio Valley. A 500 mb shortwave trough moved southeast from the Upper Mississippi Valley toward the Ohio Valley, further enhancing the strength of the mesoscale convective system.
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 Jun 26, 6:10 AM CST, 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 710 AM CDT SUN JUN 26 2011 .UPDATE... UPDATED AVIATION SECTION FOR 12Z TAFS && .DISCUSSION... WITH WATCH IN EFFECT AND ONGOING WEATHER...WILL KEEP THIS AS BRIEF AS POSSIBLE. SYNOPTICALLY THIS MORNING WE HAVE A WNW-ESE ORIENTED SFC FRONTAL BOUNDARY DRAPED OVER THE SOUTHWEST SECTIONS OF OUR CWA ALONG WITH NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. AS A RESULT...AN MCS IS CURRENTLY PLOWING ITS WAY SOUTHWARD ACROSS OUR CWA. BETWEEN 12-18Z THIS MORNING WHATS LEFT OF THIS SYSTEM WILL MAINLY AFFECT THE EASTERN HALF OF OUR CWA...THEN FROM 18-00Z THIS AFTERNOON PRECIPITATION SHOULD FOCUS MAINLY OVER THE CENTRAL SECTIONS OF THE CWA IN THE VICINITY OF THE BOUNDARY. THE AFOREMENTIONED FRONTAL BOUNDARY IS FORECAST TO LIFT NORTHEAST TODAY AS A WARM FRONT AND IS FORECAST TO BE DRAPED OVER THE NORTHEAST SECTIONS OF THE CWA BY 12Z MONDAY. CONSEQUENTLY LATE TONIGHT PRECIP CHANCES ARE EXPECTED TO BE HIGHEST OVER THE NORTHEAST SECTIONS. IN THE WAKE OF THE WARM FRONT WARMER MID LEVEL AIR WILL PUSH NORTHEAST INTO THE AREA AS AN UPPER RIDGE BUILDS ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE CWA WHICH SHOULD KEEP THOSE AREAS DRY. STARTING MONDAY...PRECIP CHANCES WILL INCREASE BACK ACROSS OUR CWA THROUGH TUESDAY AS THE RIDGE GETS SUPPRESSED A BIT AND A FRONTAL SYSTEM APPROACHES AND EVENTUALLY CROSSES THE REGION MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. COULD SEE SOME ELEVATED CONVECTION TUESDAY NIGHT OVER THE SOUTHWEST SECTIONS OF THE CWA NORTH OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY. HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE AND UPPER LEVEL RIDGING SHOULD KEEP THE REGION DRY AND WARMER FROM NEXT WEDNESDAY THROUGH THE END OF THE UPCOMING WEEK. CURRENT FORECAST SHOWING PRECIP CHANCES STARTING NEXT SATURDAY...BUT WILL MAKE NO CHANGES BEYOND WEDNESDAY WITH THIS ISSUANCE. && .AVIATION... TIMING OF THUNDERSTORMS IS THE MAIN AVIATION CONCERN THROUGH TONIGHT. FOR THE FIRST FEW HOURS...RELIED MAINLY ON RADAR TRENDS...WHICH INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS GENERALLY MOVING AWAY FROM THE TAF SITES. HOWEVER...A STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY NEAR THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER COULD PRODUCE NEW CONVECTION AT ANY TIME. THE MOST LIKELY AREA FOR NEW STORMS IS ON THE COOL SIDE OF THE BOUNDARY...ESPECIALLY KPAH AREA. AMENDMENTS WILL LIKELY BE REQUIRED THROUGH THE DAY TO FINE TUNE THE TIMING AND LOCATION OF STORMS AS NEW DATA ARRIVES. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. && PUBLIC...JAP AVIATION...MY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 534 AM CDT SUN JUN 26 2011 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-271045- 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- 534 AM CDT SUN JUN 26 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS OUTLOOKED ALL OF THE REGION FOR A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT. IN ADDITION TO THE POSSIBILITY OF A FEW STORMS BECOMING SEVERE TODAY...THERE COULD BE ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS LATE TONIGHT. THE PRIMARY THREATS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS. RIVER FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ON SOME AREA RIVERS. SEE RIVER FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE QUAD STATE REGION HAS BEEN OUTLOOKED FOR A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE STORMS ON MONDAY. A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BE ONGOING ACROSS THESE PORTIONS OF THE REGION MONDAY MORNING. LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS WILL BE THE PRIMARY THUNDERSTORM RISK. YET ANOTHER SYSTEM COULD BRING A RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS TO MAINLY THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE REGION MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY. RIVER FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ON SOME AREA RIVERS. SEE RIVER FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION LIKELY TO BE REQUIRED OFF AND ON OVER THE REGION TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY. HEAVY RAINFALL REPORTS AND ANY FLOODING REPORTS SHOULD ALSO BE RELAYED TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
417 AM CDT SUN JUN 26 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0415 AM HEAVY RAIN CARBONDALE 37.72N 89.22W
06/26/2011 M3.19 INCH JACKSON IL EMERGENCY MNGR
RAINFALL ACCUMULATION WITHIN 1.5 HOURS. STANDING WATER
ALONG SOME ROADWAYS WITH MANY CREEKS AND STREAMS AT
BANKFULL OR OVERFLOWING.
&&
SMITTYPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
509 AM CDT SUN JUN 26 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0509 AM HEAVY RAIN HERRIN 37.80N 89.03W
06/26/2011 U0.00 INCH WILLIAMSON IL TRAINED SPOTTER
SEVERAL LOW LYING STREETS HAVE STANDING WATER OVER THEM.
&&
SMITTYThe Paducah radar (KPAH), 25 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 12:51 UTC.
2 heavy rain, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Up to four inches of water covered low-lying areas in the Barlow city limits. Highway 1367 was flooded near the McCracken County line. A trained spotter in Ingleside measured 5.25 inches in about five hours. In LaCenter, a spotter measured 4.5 inches.
In Paducah, several vehicles were stranded beneath a railroad overpass on U.S. Highway 62. Vehicles were stalled out on at least one other flooded roadway. One of the vehicles was a van with three children inside. A tow truck successfully pulled the van out of the water. Numerous other traffic issues occurred in Paducah due to water on the roadways. There was minor flooding of several residences in Paducah. Water was deep enough to enter vehicles on U.S. Highway 62 in Paducah. A lot of overflow was reported in places that don't normally flood near the Ballard County line. On the west side of Paducah, flash flooding of a creek damaged a small bridge, floated two vehicles, and entered an apartment.
The bridge along Kentucky Highway 1241 over Mayfield Creek collapsed into the creek. The 160-foot long bridge was already closed due to damage from erosion during the April floods. The combination of heavy rain and pre-existing damage to the bridge piers caused the collapse.
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: 315285, 315048, 317439.