An isolated severe thunderstorm grew into a small bow echo as it crossed extreme southern Illinois. The storm occurred along a cold front as it moved southeast across the Lower Ohio Valley.
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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.
An isolated severe thunderstorm grew into a small bow echo as it crossed extreme southern Illinois. The storm occurred along a cold front as it moved southeast across the Lower Ohio Valley. The activity was supported by a mesoscale vorticity center that was over southeast Missouri. Moderately strong southwest winds aloft (around 30 knots in the mid levels) contributed to storm organization.
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 Aug 9, 11:39 AM CST, 2 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 1239 PM CDT Fri Aug 9 2013 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 1239 PM CDT FRI AUG 9 2013 The aviation section has been updated for the 18Z TAF issuance. && .SHORT TERM...(Today through Saturday night) ISSUED AT 324 AM CDT FRI AUG 9 2013 Convection early this morning focused across west KY. Heavy rain not a concern at this time with a ENE movement around 30 mph. Could see additional development with some new cells showing up over SEMO, out toward Greenville and Van Buren. Overall, will focus better PoPs near model projections of the H9/H8 frontal position, which works well for ongoing convection at the time of this writing. This will result in slightly higher PoPs south and lower PoPs north through the short term. Still not projecting major rain amounts. Spotty heavy amounts certainly possible. So far, the major widespread heavy rain concern has not materialized, save for a few locales in SEMO. Overall, it's been smaller scale, and was focused initially, again across SEMO days prior. This will continue to be the area to monitor (essentially the SW 1/2 or so of the CWFA). Temps will be tricky as usual given convective chances, variable cloud cover etc. Stayed close to existing numbers, and blended them with latest MOS, and model output average. .LONG TERM...(Sunday through Thursday) ISSUED AT 324 AM CDT FRI AUG 9 2013 As alluded to in the Thursday morning discussion, the beginning of the forecast period is punctuated with a broad upper ridge in the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi valley and a faster zonal flow (in which the WFO PAH forecast area is included) across the northern 1/2 of the nation. At the surface, a mean frontal boundary continues across the Missouri Bootheel into West Kentucky. The numerical model guidance suggests that fast moving shortwaves will enhance convective potential during the day Sunday across the forecast area. The aforementioned pattern will continue to persist through Tuesday night. With the uncertainty associated with mesoscale convective impacts, it is difficult to highlight anyone area for excessive rainfall/thunderstorm activity. By Tuesday, the extension of the westerlies further south and the drier northeast flow pushing into the area will further dry out locations from north to south. With this change in flow and the introduction of lower thicknesses into the area, kept temperatures below normal for this time of year...mainly in the lower to middle 80s. && .AVIATION... ISSUED AT 1239 PM CDT FRI AUG 9 2013 Looks like the weak surface boundary is located from near KCGI to near KOWB. A band of showers and a few thunderstorms over southeast Missouri will impact KCGI for the next couple of hours. Did not go lower than MVFR levels, but it may briefly go lower in a heavy downpour. After 20Z, expect most of the convective activity to be east of KCGI. Thunderstorm development is likely along and south of the boundary, but not sure if coverage will be focused along it or in the clearer, warmer air just south over west Kentucky. Decided to play it optimistically and just go with a VCSH at KPAH and KOWB for the mid and late afternoon. An upper level disturbance over the panhandle regions of Kansas and Oklahoma will shear out/weaken as it moves eastward through our region late tonight and early Saturday. This should impact only the southern half of the area, so will keep MVFR conditions confined to KCGI and KPAH, but will run them from the pre-dawn hours through the end of the forecast. KOWB will be on the edge and may see lower conditions than forecast, but confidence is not high enough to go lower at this time. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...NONE. MO...NONE. IN...NONE. KY...NONE. && UPDATE...DRS AVIATION...DRS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 326 AM CDT FRI AUG 9 2013 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-101000- 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- 326 AM CDT FRI AUG 9 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT THUNDERSTORMS REMAIN IN THE FORECAST TODAY AND TONIGHT WITH SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCES OVER WEST KENTUCKY...SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AND FAR SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS AND LIGHTNING WILL BE THE MAIN HAZARDS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE ON AND OFF CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. AGAIN...LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN...GUSTY WINDS AND LIGHTNING WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARDS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. RAINFALL REPORTS ARE ENCOURAGED.
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 216 PM CDT FRI AUG 9 2013 ILZ088-089-092>094-KYZ004-005-092000- ALEXANDER IL-BALLARD KY-JOHNSON IL-MASSAC IL-MCCRACKEN KY-PULASKI IL-UNION IL- 216 PM CDT FRI AUG 9 2013 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR EASTERN ALEXANDER...EASTERN UNION...PULASKI...MASSAC AND JOHNSON COUNTIES IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...AND NORTHERN BALLARD AND NORTHERN MCCRACKEN COUNTIES IN WESTERN KENTUCKY UNTIL 300 PM CDT... AT 209 PM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM DONGOLA TO 5 MILES EAST OF TAMMS TO MOUNDS...AND MOVING EAST AT 20 MPH. WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS...ALONG WITH HEAVY RAIN AND FREQUENT DANGEROUS LIGHTNING. LOCATIONS THAT MAY BE IMPACTED INCLUDE... VIENNA...KARNAK...NEW COLUMBIA...OLMSTED...CYPRESS...NEW GRAND CHAIN...BUNCOMBE...BELKNAP...JOPPA AND SIMPSON. THESE STORMS MAY INTENSIFY...SO BE CERTAIN TO MONITOR LOCAL RADIO AND TV STATIONS...AS WELL AS LOCAL CABLE TV OUTLETS... FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. TORRENTIAL RAIN...WHICH MAY FLOOD LOW LYING AREAS SUCH AS DITCHES AND UNDERPASSES...IS ALSO LIKELY. DO NOT DRIVE YOUR VEHICLE ON A FLOODED ROADWAY.
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:45 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Numerous large trees were blown down. The most concentrated damage was between Joppa and U.S. Route 45 along County Road 900N. Snapped trees were up to two feet in diameter.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Illinois in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Illinois, August 2013
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: 468102, 468099.