A powerful cyclone began to deepen over Illinois during the afternoon hours on October 31st. Towards midnight, as low pressure moved across southern Lake Michigan, it deepened to well below 990mb.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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.
A powerful cyclone began to deepen over Illinois during the afternoon hours on October 31st. Towards midnight, as low pressure moved across southern Lake Michigan, it deepened to well below 990mb. A powerful low level jet developed over the Lower Ohio Valley by mid-afternoon, as winds at 925mb increased to around 55kt by evening. These winds translated to surface winds of around 30 mph with frequent gusts up to 50 mph across southern Indiana and the Commonwealth. Widespread minor wind damage developed as large branches fall across roads and power lines. In addition to strong gradient winds, several convective lines of showers developed by mid-evening across central Kentucky. Despite a lack of thunder, these lines of showers brought additional wind damage.
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 Oct 31, 10:36 AM EST, 34 minutes earlier.
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</html>The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 86 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:02 UTC.
11 thunderstorm wind, 6 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Tree branches fell across a power line along Gabbardtown Road, starting a small brush fire. Local wind sensors measured wind gusts up to 45 mph.
A county official reported branches and power lines down across Bowling Green as a result of strong gradient winds. A traffic light at the intersection of Scottsville Road and Interstate 65 was damaged. Local wind sensors measured winds up to 40 mph at this time.
Strong gradient winds felled a large limb of a pecan tree near Hays, KY, killing an elderly woman who was harvesting pecans at the time. A nearby Kentucky Mesonet site clocked winds gusting to 40 mph at the time.
An 18 year old man was injured when his vehicle hit a downed tree on Lyons Station Road. The nearby LaRue County mesonet recorded a 31 mph wind gust at around this same time.
Local media reported damage to a home's deck on Richmond Avenue. The Kentucky mesonet sensor south of Lexington measured a 39 mph wind gust at this time.
A Louisville television station reported several instances of limbs across power lines. Two locations specifically mentioned were located on Martha and East Barbee Avenues. Winds were gusting above 45 mph at this time.
Gusty winds from a line of strong showers knocked down a tree across a road just to the west of Cloversport. State police had to remove the debris.
A tree fell across the Royal Parkway near Frankfort. A nearby weather station recorded a gust of 58 mph.
Local media reported several trees downed near Jeffersontown High School. These trees were toppled by a strong convective line of showers.
The public submitted a picture via Facebook of a large portion of a tree snapped off.
The Bullitt County emergency manager reported that several trees and power lines were downed along Beech Grove Road near Shepherdsville.
Local Lexington media reported several trees downed by a line of convective showers across the city.
A Kentucky Mesonet site located 10 miles west of Shelbyville recorded a 57 mph wind gust during the passage of a line of showers.
A spotter reported that winds associated with a strong line of showers brought damage to his storm doors and his garage. In his neighborhood many large tree limbs were downed, causing power outages. Thirteen minutes earlier, just 3 miles northwest of Winchester, a Kentucky mesonet site recorded a wind gust of 57 mph.
The Jessamine County emergency manager relayed several reports of trees and power lines down across the county.
The local media reported that a tree fell through the roof of a home in northern Lexington.
Quite a few trees and power lines were downed across Lincoln County. In Waynesburg, a tree fell through the roof of a mobile home.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong Wind, Barren | 2013-10-31 | 65 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 476240, 476242, 476243, 476244, 476245, 476246, 476209, 476211, 476206, 476212, 476216, 476218, 476230, 476232, 476228, 476231, 476235.