Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms caused extensive wind damage across a large portion of dastern Kentucky during the afternoon, evening, and early overnight hours of July 19th.
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.
Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms caused extensive wind damage across a large portion of dastern Kentucky during the afternoon, evening, and early overnight hours of July 19th.
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 Jul 19, 3:54 AM EST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 454 AM EDT THU JUL 19 2012 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 454 AM EDT THU JUL 19 2012 NO UPDATE IS PLANNED TO THE ZONE FORECAST TEXT PRODUCT AT THIS TIME. THE ESTF TOOL WAS RAN TO ESTABLISH TRENDS BUT NO OTHER CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE FORECAST. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY) ISSUED AT 333 AM EDT THU JUL 19 2012 THE FORECAST ISSUES FOR THE PERIOD TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY WILL BE SLOW MOVING THUNDERSTORMS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL. THE PRIMARY THREATS WITH ANY STORMS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING. A FEW STORMS COULD ALSO BECOME SEVERE THIS AFTERNOON...WITH STRONG WINDS AND HAIL POSSIBLE. THE CHALLENGE FOR THIS PORTION OF THE FORECAST WILL BE TO PINPOINT EXACTLY WHEN AND WHERE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL FIRE...AND HOW SOON THE COMPLEXES OF STORMS THAT KEEP FORMING IN THE SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES REGION WILL MAKE THEIR WAY INTO CENTRAL AND EASTERN KENTUCKY. THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE WILL REMAIN WARM...MOIST...AND VERY UNSTABLE TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY. WITH NO CAPPING TO SPEAK OF...ONCE THE SUN COMES UP AND THE SURFACE BEGINS TO WARM...SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL BEGIN POPPING UP ACROSS EASTERN KENTUCKY. THE STORMS WILL BE SCATTERED IN NATURE...WITH SOME AREAS EXPERIENCING INDIVIDUAL OR CLUSTERED STORMS FROM TIME TO TIME. DUE TO WEAK FLOW ALOFT...ANY STORMS THAT FORM TODAY WILL BE VERY SLOW MOVING. AS A RESULT...IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO PREDICT THE MOVEMENT OF THESE STORMS. BECAUSE OF THIS LEVEL OF UNCERTAINTY...IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE FLOOD WATCH THAT WAS ISSUED YESTERDAY AFTERNOON...WILL BE LEFT AS IS. A COLD FRONT WILL FINALLY MAKE ITS WAY ACROSS THE REGION ON FRIDAY...BRINGING YET ANOTHER ROUND OF WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND STORMS TO EASTERN KENTUCKY. SCATTERED TO BROKEN MIDDLE AND HIGH CLOUDS WILL BE PRESENT ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH MID MORNING. WITH A WARM AND MUGGY AIR MASS IN PLACE...AND WITH A GOOD DEAL OF SUN REACHING THE SURFACE THROUGH THE MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS...TEMPERATURES TODAY SHOULD BE ABLE TO WARM TO AROUND 90 BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON. HIGHS ON FRIDAY WILL BE SEVERAL DEGREES COOLER...AS THE COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE AREA BY LATE AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE WEST BEHIND THE FRONT...USHERING COOLER AND DRIER INTO THE AREA. HIGHS ON FRIDAY WILL MOST LIKELY BE IN THE MID 80S ACROSS THE BOARD. .LONG TERM...(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY) ISSUED AT 353 AM EDT THU JUL 19 2012 THE PERIOD WILL BEGIN WITH THE RATHER PERSISTENT RIDGE CENTERED OVER THE CENTRAL PLAINS REGION AND THE REGION IN NW FLOW ALOFT AS A SHORTWAVE TROUGH WORKS INTO THE APPALACHIANS AND TOWARD THE EASTERN SEABOARD. EARLY IN THE WEEKEND...AN AXIS OF THE RIDGE IS EXPECTED TO EXTEND EAST INTO THE OH VALLEY REGION THOUGH DEEPER MOISTURE AND A STALLED BOUNDARY WILL REMAIN CLOSER TO THE TN AND VA BORDER COUNTIES...WITH SOME DRIER AIR PROGGED TO WORK INTO THE NORTH. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...THE FLOW WILL BECOME A BIT MORE NORTHWEST TO WEST NORTHWEST AND THE REGION WILL BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DISTURBANCES MOVING AROUND THE PLAINS RIDGE...THOUGH BY MIDWEEK THE RIDGE IS EXPECTED TO FLATTEN OUT SOMEWHAT AND BUILD INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND GULF OF MEXICO REGION. THIS PATTERN MAY ALLOW A BOUNDARY ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES EARLY IN THE WEEK TO PUSH SOUTH INTO THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS. WE CONTINUED WITH POPS EARLY IN THE PERIOD AS THE COLD FRONT EXITS AND SHORTWAVE TROUGH WORKS ACROSS THE REGION. RIDGING SHOULD LEAD TO RATHER MINIMAL CHANCES FOR CONVECTION OVER THE WEEKEND. SCATTERED TO LIKELY POPS REMAIN IN ORDER FROM MON INTO WED...ESPECIALLY EACH AFTERNOON INTO EARLY EVENING. BY MIDWEEK...IF THE BOUNDARY IS ABLE TO REACH AS CLOSE AS THE MID OH VALLEY/CENTRAL APPALACHIAN REGION NOCTURNAL MCS ACTIVITY MIGHT ALSO BE A POSSIBILITY. WITH THE CENTER OF THE RIDGE AND WARMEST AIR MASS REMAINING WEST OF THE REGION AND EVEN AS IT TEMPORARILY BUILDS INTO THE OH VALLEY REGION OVER THE WEEKEND THE WARMEST AIR MASS SHOULD REMAIN WEST OR NORTH OF THE REGION AS HAS BEEN THE TREND RECENTLY. THIS SHOULD YIELD MAX TEMPS NEAR TO A COUPLE OF DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL...AND SLIGHTLY GREATER DEPARTURES FOR OVERNIGHT LOWS. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z THURSDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 147 AM EDT THU JUL 19 2012 THE NEW AVIATION FORECAST WILL FEATURE ISOLATED SHOWERS AND STORMS MOVING ACROSS EASTERN KENTUCKY OVERNIGHT. SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL BEGIN INCREASE IN COVERAGE BY LATE THIS MORNING...AND BECOME WIDESPREAD BY 19 OR 20Z. THE THREATS WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING. IFR CONDITIONS AND FOG WILL BE POSSIBLE AT LOZ AND SME BETWEEN 9 AND 13Z...AS THE SURFACE COOLS UNDER A SCATTERED TO BROKEN LAYER OF MIDDLE AND HIGH CLOUD COVER. IFR CONDITIONS WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH ANY THUNDERSTORMS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED HEAVY RAINFALL. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH FROM 8 AM EDT THIS MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING FOR KYZ079-080-083>088-107-109-110-112-113-115>120. && UPDATE...AR SHORT TERM...AR LONG TERM....JP AVIATION...AR
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 407 AM EDT THU JUL 19 2012 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-104-106-108-111-114-201115- FLEMING-MONTGOMERY-BATH-ROWAN-ESTILL-POWELL-MENIFEE-ROCKCASTLE- JACKSON-ELLIOTT-MORGAN-WOLFE-LEE-OWSLEY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FLEMINGSBURG...MOUNT STERLING... OWINGSVILLE...MOREHEAD...IRVINE...STANTON...FRENCHBURG... MOUNT VERNON...MCKEE...SANDY HOOK...WEST LIBERTY...CAMPTON... BEATTYVILLE...BOONEVILLE 407 AM EDT THU JUL 19 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME STORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME THUNDERSTORMS ON FRIDAY MAY CONTAIN HEAVY RAIN AND PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLOODING...WITH DITCHES AND LOW WATER CROSSINGS RUNNING FULL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD REPORT ANY INSTANCES OF FLOODING OR DAMAGING WINDS TODAY OR FRIDAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON. KYZ079-080-083>088-107-109-110-112-113-115>120-201115- PULASKI-LAUREL-WAYNE-MCCREARY-WHITLEY-KNOX-BELL-HARLAN-JOHNSON- MAGOFFIN-FLOYD-BREATHITT-KNOTT-PERRY-CLAY-LESLIE-LETCHER-MARTIN-PIKE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...SOMERSET...LONDON...MONTICELLO... WHITLEY CITY...CORBIN...WILLIAMSBURG...BARBOURVILLE...MIDDLESBORO... PINEVILLE...HARLAN...PAINTSVILLE...SALYERSVILLE...PRESTONSBURG... JACKSON...HINDMAN...HAZARD...MANCHESTER...HYDEN...WHITESBURG... INEZ...PIKEVILLE 407 AM EDT THU JUL 19 2012 ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM EDT THIS MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT. SOME STORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND DAMAGING WINDS THE PRIMARY THREATS. THERE IS ALSO THE POTENTIAL FOR LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING...ESPECIALLY IN LOCATIONS WHERE HEAVY RAIN HAS ALREADY FALLEN OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME THUNDERSTORMS ON FRIDAY COULD BE SEVERE...WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING THE PRIMARY THREATS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD REPORT ANY INSTANCES OF FLOODING OR DAMAGING WINDS TODAY OR FRIDAY TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JACKSON. AR
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 44 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:02 UTC.
21 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
One and ninety seven hundredths of an inch of rain fell between 7 am and 530 pm edt.
Trees were blown down on Winchester Rd outside of Mount Sterling.
The mesonet site in Bath county recorded a wind gust of 60 mph.
A tree was blown down on Cow Branch.
A tree was blown down on Hwy 7.
Trees and large limbs were blown down on Tom Stamper Rd.
A tree was blown down on Wilson Branch Rd.
Trees were blown down on Hwy 52.
Trees were blown down on Hwy 979 along Mud Creek.
Trees were blown down on Laurel Fork of Lost Creek.
Trees were blown down at Chimney Rock.
Trees were blown down on Briar Fork at Willard.
A spotter driving along Route 119 reported a few trees down.
Trees were blown down on Sand Gap Rd.
Trees were blown down on Wind Cave Rd.
Trees were blown down on Kelly Rd.
Trees were blown down along Hwy 1803...near the junction of county road 203 and KY1304. Power outages were reported around the area.
Trees were blown down on Warrens Loop.
Trees were blown down on Hwy 3439.
A tree was blown down on Hwy 80 West.
A tree was blown down on Twin Rivers Drive.
A tree was blown down on Black Oak Rd.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, July 2012
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: 389596, 389597, 389616, 389598, 389599, 389600, 389601, 389602, 389603, 389604, 389605, 389606, 389607, 389608, 389609, 389610, 389611, 389612, 389613, 389614, 389615, 389617.