Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms brought down a few trees and caused flooding across portions of eastern Kentucky on September 5th, 2012. A possible funnel cloud was also reported near Corbin in Laurel County.
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 brought down a few trees and caused flooding across portions of eastern Kentucky on September 5th, 2012. A possible funnel cloud was also reported near Corbin in Laurel County.
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 Sep 5, 3:08 PM EST, 1 hour 37 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 408 PM EDT WED SEP 5 2012 .SHORT TERM...(THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 408 PM EDT WED SEP 5 2012 UPSTREAM LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CONTINUES TO STRENGTHEN THIS AFTERNOON IN FAVORABLY UNSTABLE AIR MASS. GOES SOUNDING DATA SHOWS ENVIRONMENT SUITABLE FOR SUSTAINING THIS LINE AS IT PUSHES EAST...SOUTHEASTWARD. THIS LINE IS EXPECTED TO REACH THE INTERSTATE 75 CORRIDOR ABOUT 21Z TO 22Z. BEEFED UP POPS IN OUR WEST IN ANTICIPATION OF THE LINE REACHING OUR WESTERN ZONES LATE THIS AFTERNOON...VERY EARLY THIS EVENING. EXPECT THE LINE TO WEAKEN WITH SUNSET SO TAPERED POPS OFF QUICKLY THEREAFTER. WATCH IS IN EFFECT JUST TO THE WEST OF OUR CWA AND A FEW WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED. WHILE THE THREAT OF A FEW STRONG OR SEVERE STORMS CAN NOT BE RULED OUT AM NOT EXPECTING ANY WIDESPREAD SEVERE WEATHER AS STORMS SHOULD WEAKEN CONSIDERABLY WITH LOSS OF DAYTIME HEATING. JUST THE SAME WILL HIGHLIGHT THE POTENTIAL IN THE HWO. A SHORT WAVE SHOULD TRACK THROUGH THE REGION OVERNIGHT. PLENTY OF JUICY AIR AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE. KEPT ISOLD TO SCATTERED SHOWERS OVERNIGHT AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDER. OVERNIGHT FOG WILL DEPEND ON CLOUD COVER AND THE AMOUNT OF RAIN WE SEE WITH THE LINE OF CONVECTION LATE THIS AFTERNOON...EARLY THIS EVENING. WHILE GUIDANCE IS FAIRLY PESSIMISTIC MODELS HAVE HANDLED EVENTS TODAY VERY POORLY. WITH DISTURBANCE MOVING THROUGH OVERNIGHT AND LOW CONFIDENCE IN MODEL GUIDANCE DECIDED TO LET THE EVENING SHIFT SEE HOW THINGS UNFOLD WITH RESPECT TO ANY FOG. .LONG TERM...(FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY) ISSUED AT 301 PM EDT WED SEP 5 2012 THIS FCST BEGINS FRI MORNING WITH A MAJOR CYCLONE STATIONED OVER HUDSON BAY WITH A 50H SHORT WAVE DROPPING INTO THE NRN PLAINS. THE SOUTHWEST IS DOMINATED BY HIGH PRESSURE WHILE LESLIE IS FCST TO BE UP TO HURRICANE STRENGTH BUT SHOULD REMAIN WELL OFF THE COAST AND EVEN AT THIS POINT EAST OF BERMUDA. THE MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE 50H SHORT WAVE BY SUNDAY MORNING BUT THE GFS IS SLIGHTLY FASTER AND THE ECMWF BRINGS A SLIGHTLY STRONGER FOLLOW ON SHORT WAVE BEHIND THE INITIAL WAVE. THE ECMWF FOLLOWING WAVE IS STRONG ENOUGH TO DROP INTO ERN KY WHILE THE WEAKER GFS KEEPS MOST OF THE ENERGY NORTH OF THE OHIO RVR. BOTH MODELS THEN BUILD A RIDGE INTO THE TN/OH VALLEY WITH FAIR WEATHER UNTIL WED MORNING WHEN ANOTHER MAJOR DISTURBANCE CROSSING THE NRN PLAINS BORDER WITH CANADA DEPRESSES THE RIDGE TO THE WRN GULF AND ALLOWS THE TROF TO CROSS INTO OUR WEATHER PICTURE. AT THE SFC BOTH MODELS KEEP FRI DRY FOR THE MOST PART UNTIL LATE IN THE AFTERNOON WHEN THE SFC LOW PUSHES ACROSS SRN IN/OH/NRN KY. THE GFS CLEARS THE WEATHER BY MIDNIGHT SAT NIGHT WHILE THE ECMWF IS SLOWER AND DOESN/T CLEAR UNTIL EARLY SUN MORNING. NEITHER MODEL DOES MUCH WITH THE FOLLOWING 50H SHORT WAVE BUT THE ECMWF KEEPS SLIGHTLY MORE CLOUD COVER BUT THE LOW LEVELS ARE TOO DRY TO SUPPORT PCPN AS HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SFC BUILDS INTO THE ERN CONUS AND PUSHES ANY PCPN OFF THE MID ATLANTIC COAST. BY TUE MORNING THE SFC HIGH IS EASING TOWARDS NEW ENGLAND IN THE ECMWF AND IS PUSHED SOUTH TO THE CAROLINAS IN THE GFS. BOTH MODELS KEEP THE COMMONWEALTH DRY THRU WED AS THE SFC REFLECTION OF THE 50H TROF IS SLOW TO BUILD THE REQUISITE MOISTURE WITH THE TROF EXTENDING FROM THE GREAT LAKES TO THE SRN PLAINS BUT MOSTLY DRY. TEMPERATURES ON FRI WILL CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 80S...BUT WITH THE RAIN MOVING IN AND COLD AIR EXPECT HIGHS ON THE WEEKEND TO ONLY REACH THE LOWER TO MID 70S. HIGHS WILL CLIMB INTO THE UPPER 70S TO AROUND 80 BY WEDNESDAY. LOW TEMPS FOR THE WEEKEND AND THE EARLY PART OF THE NEW WEEK WILL BE VERY COMFORTABLE IN THE MID 50S. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z THURSDAY AFTERNOON) ISSUED AT 209 PM EDT WED SEP 5 2012 LOW CLOUDS HAVE BEEN STUBBORNLY HANGING ON TODAY BUT ARE FINALLY MIXING OUT WITH SURFACE HEATING. REMNANTS OF UPSTREAM STORM COMPLEX IS PUSHING A FAIRLY SOLID LINE OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TOWARDS OUR AREA. GOES SOUNDING DATA SHOWS ENVIRONMENT SUITABLE FOR SUSTAINING THIS LINE AS IT PUSHES EAST...SOUTHEASTWARD. ISOLD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING AHEAD OF THIS LINE AS WELL. MODELS HAVE HANDLED THIS ACTIVITY VERY POORLY SO CONFIDENCE IN FORECAST IS LOW. FOR NOW INCLUDED A BROAD BRUSH VCSH FOR ALL TERMINALS. IF LINE HOLDS TOGETHER WILL AMD TAFS FOR THUNDER AS APPROPRIATE AND AS TIMING... FORECAST BECOMES MORE CERTAIN. BASED ON EXTRAPOLATION OF THIS LINE EASTWARD AND IF IT DOES NOT BECOME TOO DISORGANIZED...EXPECT THE LINE TO REACH THE INTERSTATE 75 CORRIDOR ABOUT 21-22Z. SPC HAS HAD A WATCH BOX FOR THE LINE AS IT PASSED THROUGH IL/IN BUT FEW WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED. WHILE THE THREAT OF A STRONG OR SEVERE STORM CAN NOT BE RULED OUT AM NOT EXPECTING MUCH ATTM. BUT WILL WATCH IN CASE THE LINE BECOMES MORE ORGANIZED. ATTENTION IS THEN DRAWN TO A SHORT WAVE THAT SHOULD TRACK THROUGH THE REGION OVERNIGHT. PLENTY OF JUICY AIR AHEAD OF THIS FEATURE SO INCLUDED VCSH SINCE SOMETHING COULD POP UP AT ABOUT ANY TIME. UNDECIDED YET ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF FOG OVERNIGHT WITH ADDED CLOUD COVER EXPECTED FROM THE DISTURBANCE. GUIDANCE IS SUGGESTING FOG OVERNIGHT...ESPECIALLY FOR STATIONS AT LOWER ELEVATIONS. BUT WITH MODELS HANDLING CURRENT EVENTS SO POORLY AM SKEPTICAL. IN ADDITION EXPERIMENTAL GOES-R PRODUCTS ARE A BIT MORE OPTIMISTIC THAN MOS GUIDANCE. FOR NOW WITH WITH MVFR CONDITIONS...THOUGH SOME TEMPORARY LOWER VSBYS AND CIGS WILL BE POSSIBLE. WINDS WILL BE LIGHT THROUGH THE PERIOD...GENERALLY SOUTHERLY TO SOUTHWEST. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...RAY LONG TERM....DUSTY AVIATION...RAY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 359 PM EDT WED SEP 5 2012 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-062300- FLEMING-MONTGOMERY-BATH-ROWAN-ESTILL-POWELL-MENIFEE-ROCKCASTLE- JACKSON-PULASKI-LAUREL-WAYNE-MCCREARY-WHITLEY-KNOX-BELL-HARLAN- ELLIOTT-MORGAN-JOHNSON-WOLFE-MAGOFFIN-FLOYD-LEE-BREATHITT-KNOTT- OWSLEY-PERRY-CLAY-LESLIE-LETCHER-MARTIN-PIKE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FLEMINGSBURG...MOUNT STERLING... OWINGSVILLE...MOREHEAD...IRVINE...STANTON...FRENCHBURG... MOUNT VERNON...MCKEE...SOMERSET...LONDON...MONTICELLO... WHITLEY CITY...CORBIN...WILLIAMSBURG...BARBOURVILLE...MIDDLESBORO... PINEVILLE...HARLAN...SANDY HOOK...WEST LIBERTY...PAINTSVILLE... CAMPTON...SALYERSVILLE...PRESTONSBURG...BEATTYVILLE...JACKSON... HINDMAN...BOONEVILLE...HAZARD...MANCHESTER...HYDEN...WHITESBURG... INEZ...PIKEVILLE 359 PM EDT WED SEP 5 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. A FEW STORMS MAY BE STRONG THIS EVENING WITH GUSTY WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN THE MAIN THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. SOME STORMS LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY COULD PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. RAY/DUSTY
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 8 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:44 UTC.
2 heavy rain, 2 funnel cloud, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
According to the Quicksand mesonet site, 3.73 inches of rain fell between 545 pm and 910 pm at Quicksand.
A rain gauge in Jackson measured 3.15 inches from storms that occurred earlier in the evening.
There were reports of high water on Old Quicksand Rd near Jackson. Flowing water at least 6 inches in depth was flowing across the road. Water was also coming up out of storm drains in the area.
A funnel cloud was spotted north of Corbin.
A funnel cloud was spotted in Tuttle.
A tree was blown down on Black Diamond Rd in the Oak Grove community.
Multiple trees were blown down in the community of Oak Grove on High Top Rd.
Bullock Rd in London was impassable due to standing water.
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, September 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: 410687, 410688, 410681, 410682, 410683, 410684, 410685, 410686.