Morning convection early on the 5th of July produced an outflow boundary that served as a focus for later, afternoon development of strong storms across the Kentucky Bluegrass and Lake Cumberland Regions. These storms developed within an extremely unstable airmass along the eastern periphery of a dome of hot air centered over the upper midwest.
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 LMK wrote it up.
Morning convection early on the 5th of July produced an outflow boundary that served as a focus for later, afternoon development of strong storms across the Kentucky Bluegrass and Lake Cumberland Regions. These storms developed within an extremely unstable airmass along the eastern periphery of a dome of hot air centered over the upper midwest.
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 Louisville, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 5, 12:02 PM EST, 31 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
102 PM EDT THU JUL 05 2012
...Updated Aviation Discussion...
.Forecast Update...
Issued at 1055 AM EDT Thu Jul 5 2012
Updated the forecast this morning to increase shower and
thunderstorm chances significantly along and east of I-65 for this
afternoon and evening. Have been looking all morning for a trigger
for afternoon convection. The trigger in question has appeared in
the form of an outflow boundary sinking southwestward from a
decaying convective complex over central Ohio. Moisture is pooling
nicely ahead of this feature, evident on latest surface obs SPC
mesoanalysis. Latest visible satellite imagery also shows some Cu
beginning to form in northeast Kentucky. Expect thunderstorms to
develop and increase in coverage through early and mid afternoon,
lasting through the evening. Instability is expected to be quite
strong and with a fairly weak magnitude of unidirectional shear,
could see a bit more organization than in past couple of days. Upped
chances to 40-50 percent along and east of I-65, tapering to the
west due to uncertainty in strength of the ridge. Will likely have
to go with likely or higher pops once storms develop and confidence
in evolution increases. Do expect some severe could occur with
damaging winds and large hail being the main threats. SPC does have
most of our CWA in a slight risk for this afternoon. Heavy rain may
also become a concern, although storm motion should be stronger than
in past afternoon/evenings.
&&
.Short Term (Today through Friday)...
Issued at 315 AM EDT Thu Jul 5 2012
The strong upper level ridge will remain in control through the short
term period. As heights increase slightly today, temperatures should
top out a degree or two above yesterday's highs, especially in the
western half of the forecast area. This will put high temperatures
in the 100s across much of the region. The exception may be the far
eastern portion of the forecast area where they look to top out in
the upper 90s. Temperatures will be similar tomorrow, within a
couple degrees of today's highs areawide. Lows tonight will range
from the lower 70s in the valleys to the upper 70s in urban areas.
Forecasting where any storms develop today and tomorrow remains a
challenge. Multiple residual boundaries are spread across the area.
The highest instability will be in the east this afternoon, where the
ridge is slightly weaker. Most of the models are having a hard time
placing convection. However, the latest run of the WRF ARW is doing
a decent job with the convection over the forecast area this
morning. Will therefore lean slightly towards this for the forecast
today. This model refires convection to our east and brings it into
the Lake Cumberland and Bluegrass region from the north and east
this afternoon, with isolated thunderstorms developing elsewhere.
Therefore, it does look like the eastern portion of the forecast
area has the best chance for storms this afternoon. Am not confident
enough to carry more than 20% chances however. Storms that do
develop may become strong to severe in the very unstable environment
with damaging winds and hail possible.
For tomorrow, though the high pressure will stretch across the lower
Ohio Valley, it may be weak enough for a few thunderstorms to
develop in the heat of the afternoon. Will therefore carry isolated
chances for storms once again Friday afternoon.
Station Thu. Forecast/Record Fri. Forecast/Record
SDF 103 / 98(1994, 1988) 102 / 97(1991)
BWG 103 / 102(1901) 102 / 100(1930)
LEX 99 / 96(1988, 1948) 100 / 97(1936)
FFT 100 / 99(1934) 100 / 99(1997)
.Long Term (Friday night through Wednesday)...
Issued at 320 AM EDT Wed Jul 5 2012
...Continued Hot Conditions, then Relief and Solid Rain Chances...
Friday night/Saturday...
Upper ridging is expected to hold on for one more day of extreme
heat, and just enough humidity to make it dangerous. Therefore the
forecast is largely a persistence forecast and/or extension of the
short-term, with lows in the mid/upper 70s and highs just a couple
degrees either side of 100. High enough confidence in afternoon heat
indices pushing 105 in the eastern CWA, and 105-110 in and west of
the I-65 corridor that the Heat Advisory in the east, and Heat
Warning in the west are already flying thru Saturday.
Saturday night - Wednesday...
POPs will ramp up for the latter part of the weekend as the upper
ridge retrogrades into the Plains and eventually the Rockies. NW
flow aloft means low confidence, but there is still enough to
justify solid chance POPs beginning on Sunday. GFS tries to blow a
cold front through Sunday and Monday, while the 12Z ECMWF was
noticeably slower and the 00Z ECMWF does not even get the front
cleanly to our south. General rule of thumb with summertime fropa,
especially in the extended, is to follow the slower model and think
about going even a bit slower than that. Am even more inclined to
follow the ECMWF after seeing its run-to-run trend, and just out of
respect for the fact it is really difficult to make a dent in a
ridge this hot.
So the main impact of following the ECMWF is that we will advertise
a fairly prolonged period of unsettled weather, with generally a 40
POP CWA-wide Sunday through Monday night, and mainly south of the
Parkways on Tuesday. By Wednesday any POPs are suppressed to the
south. Guidance temps will trend to near climo, but our forecast
will stay just a little above that given how the GFS has struggled
this season. If anything, the POP forecast could stretch out over a
longer period of time if the trend of the 00Z Euro continues and the
front hangs up over Kentucky, and that could even provide some
modest, if somewhat spotty, drought relief.
One last note, may have to watch for strong or severe storms early
next week as there will be plenty of instability ahead of the front,
and overall deep layer shear will gradually increase with troughing
developing over eastern CONUS.
&&
.Aviation (18Z TAF Issuance)...
Issued at 101 PM EDT FRI Jul 5 2012
Expecting mainly VFR conditions through the forecast period at
SDF/BWG. Scattered to numerous thunderstorms are expected this
afternoon and evening at LEX and with higher coverage, expect that
there will be better chances for brief MVFR or worse conditions in
thunderstorms. Best timing for this to occur will be from 2 PM EDT
through early evening. SDF and BWG could see an isolated to
scattered thunderstorm threat later this afternoon and evening as
well, however confidence is lower so will leave mention out for now.
Otherwise, expect variable surface winds this afternoon as outflow
boundaries develop with collapsing storms. Any noticeable gradient
should be out of the west or southwest otherwise. Will notice a
decrease in convection after sundown, with only scattered clouds
around 7-8 K feet overnight.
&&
.LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IN...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 9 PM EDT /8 PM CDT/ SATURDAY FOR
INZ076>079-083-084-089>092.
KY...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING UNTIL 9 PM EDT /8 PM CDT/ SATURDAY FOR
KYZ023>034-038-045-053-061>063-070>072.
HEAT ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM EDT /8 PM CDT/ SATURDAY FOR KYZ035>037-
039>043-046>049-054>057-064>067-073>078-081-082.
Update...........BJS
Short Term.......EER
Long Term........RAS
Aviation.........BJSHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 1109 AM EDT THU JUL 5 2012 INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>034-038-045-053-061>063-070>072- 061815- ORANGE IN-WASHINGTON IN-SCOTT IN-JEFFERSON IN-DUBOIS IN-CRAWFORD IN- PERRY IN-HARRISON IN-FLOYD IN-CLARK IN-HANCOCK KY-BRECKINRIDGE KY- MEADE KY-OHIO KY-GRAYSON KY-HARDIN KY-BULLITT KY-JEFFERSON KY- OLDHAM KY-TRIMBLE KY-HENRY KY-SHELBY KY-SPENCER KY-NELSON KY- LARUE KY-BUTLER KY-EDMONSON KY-HART KY-LOGAN KY-WARREN KY-SIMPSON KY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PAOLI...SALEM...SCOTTSBURG...MADISON... JASPER...MARENGO...TELL CITY...CORYDON...NEW ALBANY... JEFFERSONVILLE...HAWESVILLE...HARDINSBURG...BRANDENBURG... BEAVER DAM...LEITCHFIELD...ELIZABETHTOWN...FORT KNOX... MOUNT WASHINGTON...SHEPHERDSVILLE...LOUISVILLE...LA GRANGE... BEDFORD...NEW CASTLE...SHELBYVILLE...TAYLORSVILLE...BARDSTOWN... HODGENVILLE...MORGANTOWN...BROWNSVILLE...MUNFORDVILLE... RUSSELLVILLE...BOWLING GREEN...FRANKLIN 1109 AM EDT THU JUL 5 2012 /1009 AM CDT THU JUL 5 2012/ ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT /8 PM CDT/ SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL BEING THE MAIN THREATS. IN ADDITION...HEAT INDICES WILL RISE TO 105-110 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AFTERNOONS. A BETTER CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY AS A FRONT SLOWLY MOVES SOUTH THROUGH THE AREA. ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT DEVELOPS WILL PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AFTERNOONS ALSO WILL BE HOT...WITH HEAT INDICES LIKELY PEAKING BETWEEN 105 TO 110 DEGREES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD REPORT ANY INSTANCES OF HAIL OR THUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LOUISVILLE (ALL LOWER CASE) KYZ035>037-039>043-046>049-054>057-064>067-073>078-081-082-061815- FRANKLIN KY-SCOTT KY-HARRISON KY-ANDERSON KY-WOODFORD KY-FAYETTE KY- BOURBON KY-NICHOLAS KY-WASHINGTON KY-MERCER KY-JESSAMINE KY-CLARK KY- MARION KY-BOYLE KY-GARRARD KY-MADISON KY-GREEN KY-TAYLOR KY-CASEY KY- LINCOLN KY-ALLEN KY-BARREN KY-MONROE KY-METCALFE KY-ADAIR KY- RUSSELL KY-CUMBERLAND KY-CLINTON KY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FRANKFORT...GEORGETOWN...CYNTHIANA... LAWRENCEBURG...VERSAILLES...LEXINGTON...PARIS...CARLISLE... SPRINGFIELD...HARRODSBURG...NICHOLASVILLE...WINCHESTER...LEBANON... DANVILLE...LANCASTER...RICHMOND...GREENSBURG...CAMPBELLSVILLE... LIBERTY...STANFORD...SCOTTSVILLE...GLASGOW...TOMPKINSVILLE... EDMONTON...COLUMBIA...JAMESTOWN...BURKESVILLE...ALBANY 1109 AM EDT THU JUL 5 2012 /1009 AM CDT THU JUL 5 2012/ ...HEAT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM EDT /8 PM CDT/ SATURDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING AHEAD OF A BOUNDARY MOVING INTO THE AREA. SOME OF THESE STORMS MAY BECOME STRONG TO SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL BEING THE MAIN THREATS. IN ADDITION...HEAT INDICES WILL RISE TO 100-105 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AFTERNOONS. A BETTER CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY AS A FRONT SLOWLY MOVES SOUTH THROUGH THE AREA. ANY THUNDERSTORM THAT DEVELOPS WILL PRODUCE BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL AND DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AFTERNOONS ALSO WILL BE HOT...WITH HEAT INDICES LIKELY PEAKING BETWEEN 100 TO 105 DEGREES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD REPORT ANY INSTANCES OF HAIL OR THUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/LOUISVILLE (ALL LOWER CASE) EER/BJS
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
947 AM EDT THU JUL 05 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0253 AM TSTM WND DMG 1 SW SHIVELY 38.19N 85.83W
07/05/2012 JEFFERSON KY BROADCAST MEDIA
BROADCAST MEDIA REPORTED TREES AND LARE LIMBS DOWN IN
THE ST. DENNIS AREA NEAR SHIVELY. POWER WAS OUT IN MANY
LOCATIONS.
&&
EVENT NUMBER LMK1200740
SCHOETTMERPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
957 AM EDT THU JUL 05 2012
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0335 AM TSTM WND DMG 1 S PLEASURE RIDGE PARK 38.14N 85.85W
07/05/2012 JEFFERSON KY BROADCAST MEDIA
BROADCAST MEDIA RELAYED A REPORT OF AN UPROOTED
TREE...LIMBS DOWN AND OTHER MINOR DAMAGE NEAR GAGELAND
ROAD AND SKY BLUE AVENUE. QUARTER SIZE HAIL WAS ALSO
OBSERVED.
&&
EVENT NUMBER LMK1200741
SCHOETTMERThe Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 79 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:32 UTC.
15 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Local emergency management reported that many trees were downed across an area just east of Winchester bounded by Hedges Station, Thomson Station, and Miller Hunt Roads.
Local law enforcement reported a tree down near the intersection of L and E Junction and Ecton Roads.
Several trees were downed on Stoner Road just east of Winchester.
The Madison County Road Department reported many trees downed along Battle Memorial Highway near Berea.
Local law enforcement reported a tree down along State Highway 1770.
Casey County emergency management reported a tree down on State Highway 906.
One large tree was downed in Dunnville. Another tree was toppled just east of Dunnville on Kentucky 501.
The Casey County road crew had to remove a tree that fell across the road in the town of Liberty.
Casey County emergency dispatch reported multiple trees downed along highways 70, 1649, and 501.
Local emergency management reported trees down along State Highway 619 near Russell Springs.
Local media reported that multiple trees were downed along Highway 156 near Jabez.
Adair County dispatch reported trees down in and around Christine.
Several trees and power lines were downed along State Highway 379 just south of Russell Springs.
Several trees were downed near Breeding according to local dispatch.
Local law enforcement reported trees and power lines down throughout the county.
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: 381238, 381240, 381242, 381243, 381247, 381250, 381254, 381255, 381260, 381263, 381258, 381266, 381264, 381267, 381271.