Kentucky, 2012

Heat in Kentucky, July 6, 2012

July 6, 2012 · NWS LMK · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An extended period of excessive heat, which began on June 28th, continued through July 7th. During the period, the official high temperature at Standiford Field in Louisville exceeded 100 degrees 9 times within a 10 day period.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS LMK wrote it up.

An extended period of excessive heat, which began on June 28th, continued through July 7th. During the period, the official high temperature at Standiford Field in Louisville exceeded 100 degrees 9 times within a 10 day period. Official record high maximum temperatures were set at Louisville and Lexington for 7 out of 8 days ending July 7th. At Bowling Green, temperatures also exceeded the century mark 9 times within a 10 day period. This hot weather lead to several heat related deaths across the Commonwealth, including one in Louisville.

What forecasters said that day

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 6, 12:23 PM EST, 1 hour 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 6, 12:23 PM EST, 1 hour 37 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 6, 10:43 AM EST, 3 hours 17 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Jefferson

When
July 6, 2:00 PM EST
Where
Jefferson forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
Broadcast Media
Coordinates
38.187, -85.659 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A man working in his yard in Louisville died of heat stroke during the afternoon of July 6th. The official temperature at the time of his death was 101 degrees.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Heat, Jefferson2012-07-0654MaleOutside/Open AreasDirect

What these are

Heat
Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Kentucky in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, July 2012

Sources

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 381394.