A surface low pressure center moved across eastern Arkansas into the Memphis area, with a warm front extending northeast into south central Kentucky. A bow-shaped line of thunderstorms developed north of the warm front and raked parts of western Kentucky with strong winds.
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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.
A surface low pressure center moved across eastern Arkansas into the Memphis area, with a warm front extending northeast into south central Kentucky. A bow-shaped line of thunderstorms developed north of the warm front and raked parts of western Kentucky with strong winds. Isolated wind damage occurred in the extreme western counties of Kentucky.
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 Sep 14, 12:25 PM CST, 4 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 125 PM CDT WED SEP 14 2011 .DISCUSSION... PRECIPITATION THIS EVENING WILL INCLUDE A CHANCE OF THUNDER...BUT MOSTLY WILL BE JUST RAIN. WINDS WILL TURN NORTHERLY WITH FROPA AND RAIN WILL END NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST LATER TONIGHT...WITH THE EVENT BEING PRIMARILY BEFORE MIDNIGHT. WE DID OPT TO LINGER A SMALL CHANCE IN THE FARTHEST SOUTHEAST PORTIONS OF THE AREA...WHERE IT SHOULD CLEAR AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE MODELS HAVE BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENTLY TAKING THE BOUNDARY THRU THE AREA AND RETURNING A DRY WEATHER FORECAST BEGINNING TOMORROW AND LASTING THRU AT LEAST THE FIRST HALF IF NOT MOST OF THE WEEKEND. THAT'S THE TREND AT LEAST AND THE TREND WE'VE FOLLOWED. WE DID GO AHEAD AND LEAVE THE SUNDAY MENTION AS MOISTURE IN THE COLUMN GRADUALLY SOUPS BACK UP...BUT IT'S A SMALL CHANCE MENTION ONLY. AFTER SUNDAY...THESE MORE OR LESS SMALL PRECIP CHANCES CONTINUE INTO/THRU NEXT WEEK IN A ZONAL FLOW PATTERN THAT TRACES ENERGY ACROSS THE MS/OH VALLEY AND MAY INDUCE SCATTERED SHOWER/STORMS THROUGH THIS TIME PERIOD. NOTWITHSTANDING SOME 60S/40S IN THE SHORT TERM TEMP FORECAST...COOLOFF TO 70S/50S SHOULD PREVAIL TIL THIS METAMORPHISIS OF THE UPPER PATTERN TAKES PLACE SUNDAY...AFTER WHICH 80S/60S WILL RETURN. && .AVIATION... INCOMING PRECIPITATION WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY MVFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES AT TIMES...MAINLY THRU THE EVENING HOURS. WINDS WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME NORTHERLY TONIGHT AROUND 10-11KTS WITH SOME HIGHER GUSTS POSSIBLE AS FROPA OCCURS. THE BACK EDGE OF THE RAIN IS FORECAST TO CLEAR THE REGION FROM WEST TO EAST BY ABOUT MIDNIGHT. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. MO...NONE. IL...NONE. IN...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 237 PM CDT WED SEP 14 2011 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-151000- 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- 237 PM CDT WED SEP 14 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY...AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THIS EVENING...BUT STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEVERE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS RETURNS TO THE FORECAST BEGINNING SUNDAY...BUT SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME.
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 39 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:37 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A small barn or shed was destroyed. Large pieces of wood and metal debris were blown across a road.
On Kentucky Highway 548 near Kirbyton, three barns were damaged. Two of those barns were damaged extensively. Farm equipment was tossed about. Near Milburn, lots of tree limbs were blown down along with some downed trees. A flag pole and mailbox pole were snapped. Corn fields were flattened in the Kirbyton and Milburn area.
A single-wide mobile home on Highway 80 was pushed back about five feet. None of the occupants were injured. The back porch was destroyed.
An old tobacco barn was blown almost fully intact onto Kentucky Highway 301. The barn was built in 1910. Two large oak trees about a foot and a half thick were snapped.
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, September 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: 345412, 340637, 340638, 340639.