A trough of low pressure, interacting with modest low level moisture, sparked scattered strong to severe thunderstorms that brought down trees and produced heavy rainfall around eastern Kentucky on July 14th.
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.
A trough of low pressure, interacting with modest low level moisture, sparked scattered strong to severe thunderstorms that brought down trees and produced heavy rainfall around eastern Kentucky on July 14th.
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 Jul 14, 6:54 AM EST, 2 hours 36 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 754 AM EDT MON JUL 14 2014 .UPDATE... ISSUED AT 745 AM EDT MON JUL 14 2014 HOURLY GRIDS OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS HAVE BEEN UPDATED BASED ON A COMBINATION OF RECENT OBSERVATION AND RADAR TRENDS. SHORT TERM GUIDANCE SUCH AS THE HRRR WAS ALSO FACTORED IN FOR CONVECTIVE TRENDS THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. && .SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 420 AM EDT MON JUL 14 2014 THE REGION REMAINS IN THE WARM SECTOR AT THIS POINT AHEAD OF A BOUNDARY THAT IS STALL LING OUT AND BECOMING RATHER ILL DEFINED FROM CENTRAL OH BACK TO THE SOUTHWEST JUST NORTH AND WEST OF THE OHIO RIVER. AT THE MID AND UPPER LEVELS A SOMEWHAT BROAD TROUGH ENCOMPASSES MUCH OF THE GREAT LAKES REGION AS WELL AS THE MID AND UPPER MS VALLEY AND ADJACENT PARTS OF CANADA AND THE NORTHEASTERN CONUS. UPPER LEVEL RIDGING IS IN PLACE ACROSS THE WESTERN US AND ALSO CENTERED NEAR THE FL PENINSULA. TWO UPPER LEVEL LOWS WERE CENTERED WITHIN THE TROUGH...ONE NEARING THE NORTHERN GREAT LAKES WITH THE OTHER TO ITS EAST OVER QUEBEC. WEAK SHORTWAVES WERE ROTATING THROUGH THIS TROUGH...WITH ONE ENTERING THE OH VALLEY AT THIS TIME. NEAR THE STALLED BOUNDARY CONVECTION IS OCCURRING ACROSS THE MID MS VALLEY AS WELL AS PARTS OF THE LOWER AND MIDDLE OH VALLEY REGION. AHEAD OF THE UPPER LEVEL LOW DROPPING INTO THE GREAT LAKES...SFC LOW PRESSURE IS TRACKING TOWARD THE GREAT LAKES WITH A MORE POTENT COLD FRONT EXTENDING SOUTHWEST INTO THE PLAINS. TODAY INTO TONIGHT...THE INITIAL SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE ON OFF TO THE NORTHEAST BY EARLY THIS AFTERNOON WHILE ANOTHER WAVE OR WAVES MOVING AROUND THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WORKING TOWARD THE CENTRAL GREAT LAKES SHOULD ALSO APPROACH THE LOWER OH VALLEY. THIS COMBINATION WILL SEND THE STRONGER COLD FRONT INTO THE LOWER OH VALLEY LATER TODAY AND THIS EVENING AND THEN ACROSS EASTERN TONIGHT INTO THE DAY ON TUESDAY. PLENTY OF MOISTURE IN PLACE AHEAD OF THE BOUNDARY AND WITH SOME SURFACE HEATING AND THE UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT FOR FORCING...ROUNDS OF CONVECTION SHOULD CONTINUE ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY. WITH THE SHORTWAVE TO WORK THROUGH THE LOWER OH VALLEY THROUGH THIS MORNING...THE FOCUS FOR STRONGER CONVECTION SHOULD RESIDE CLOSER TO THE OLD BOUNDARY ALTHOUGH SOME ISOLATED CONVECTION WILL REMAIN POSSIBLE ACROSS FAR SOUTHEASTERN KY. SOMEWHAT LESS INTENSE CONVECTION SHOULD ALSO SPREAD ACROSS NORTHERN PARTS OF THE AREA ALONG AND BEHIND OUTFLOWS. FROM MIDDAY THROUGH THE EVENING...AND THE NEXT WAVE APPROACHES AS WELL AS THE COLD FRONT...CONVECTION SHOULD MOVE INTO EASTERN KY OR HAVE WEAKENED AND THEN REDEVELOP OVER CENTRAL AND OR EASTERN KY. PENDING SURFACE HEATING AND INSTABILITY...A FEW STRONGER STORMS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG TO POSSIBLY DAMAGING WIND GUSTS WILL BE POSSIBLE. PW WILL REMAIN HIGH TODAY AND WITH RELATIVELY DEEP WARM CLOUD DEPTH ANTICIPATED...RAINFALL RATES AROUND TWO INCHES PER OR OR MORE WILL BE POSSIBLE. ANY LOCATIONS THAT EXPERIENCE REPEATED STORMS COULD EXPERIENCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND POSSIBLY SOME FLASH FLOODING. MANY LOCATIONS HAVE BEEN RATHER DRY OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS...SO SOILS SHOULD BE ABLE TO HANDLE QUITE A BIT OF RAIN BEFORE PROBLEMS MIGHT DEVELOP. EXPECTED CONFIDENCE IN THE LOCATION AND EXTENT OF STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS IS NOT ALL THAT HIGH. HOWEVER...RECENT TRENDS SEEM TO POINT TOWARD THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE AREA POISED TO GET THE MOST HEATING THIS MORNING. THE THREAT FOR SHOWERS AND SOME THUNDERSTORMS AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF BENEFICIAL RAINS IN MANY AREAS WILL CONTINUE INTO TONIGHT AS THE COLD FRONT WORKS INTO THE REGION AND ANOTHER SHORTWAVE OR TWO WORKS AROUND THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WORKING THROUGH THE GREAT LAKES. DEEPER MOISTURE BY TONIGHT SHOULD RESIDE OVER THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN PARTS OF THE AREA...SO QPF IN THESE AREAS SHOULD BE GREATER THAN AREAS FURTHER NORTH. THE THREAT FOR SHOWERS AND POSSIBLY A RUMBLE OF THUNDER WILL LINGER INTO TUESDAY AS THE BOUNDARY FINALLY DEPARTS THE REGION AND THE TROUGH AXIS APPROACHES. WITH A COLDER AIRMASS WORKING INTO THE AREA AND CLOUD AND PRECIPITATION EXPECTED...HIGH TEMPS ON WED WILL BE NEARLY 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL ON AVERAGE...A BREAK FROM THE RECENT AROUND 90 TO LOW TO MID 90S OVER THE WEEKEND. .LONG TERM...(TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 350 AM EDT MON JUL 14 2014 THE MODELS WERE IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGHOUT THE EXTENDED PERIOD. THE LARGE SCALE WEATHER PATTERN WILL FEATURE A LARGE RIDGE OF CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE SETTLING OVER THE AREA BEGINNING TUESDAY NIGHT AND LASTING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. THE RIDGE FINALLY BEGINS TO BREAK DOWN AND MOVE EASTWARD LATE THURSDAY INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING AS A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE FORMS OVER AND MOVES OUT OF THE PLAINS. THE START OF THE PERIOD WILL BE MOSTLY DRY...WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS AND STORMS DEPARTING THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF EASTERN KENTUCKY INTO VIRGINIA TUESDAY EVENING. AFTER THAT...THE NEXT CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION WILL ARRIVE LATE THURSDAY NIGHT AS SHOWERS AND STORMS FIRE ON THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF AN APPROACHING TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE. BASED ON THE LATEST MODEL DATA...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THE BEST CHANCE FOR RAIN WILL BE THE FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY TIME FRAME...AS A SLOW MOVING COLD FRONT MOVERS ACROSS THE AREA. THIS FRONT WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH AN AREA OF SURFACE LOW PRESSURE THAT EVENTUALLY FORMS OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN GREAT LAKES AND DRIFTS ACROSS THE REST OF THE GREAT LAKES REGION THROUGH THE WEEKEND. TEMPERATURES TO BEGIN THE PERIOD WILL BE WELL BELOW NORMAL...AS A COOL AND DRY CANADIAN AIR MASS SETTLES OVER THE EASTERN CONUS. HIGHS THROUGH SATURDAY ARE EXPECTED TO BE WELL BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR...WITH HIGHS TOPPING OUT MOSTLY IN THE 70S ACROSS EASTERN KENTUCKY. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z TUESDAY MORNING) ISSUED AT 750 AM EDT MON JUL 14 2014 SHRA AND TSRA IS EXPECTED TO NOT REACH MUCH FURTHER SOUTH THAN A SME TO JKL TO SJS LINE THROUGH ABOUT 16Z. THEREAFTER...SO REDEVELOPMENT SHOULD BRING AN OR BROKEN LINE OF CONVECTION ACROSS THE TAF SITES. IN BOTH AREAS OF CONVECTION...MAINLY MVFR AND LOCALIZED IFR IS ANTICIPATED. FURTHER SATURATION AND THE APPROACH OF A COLD FRONT SHOULD LEAD TO IFR CIGS AFTER 6Z. UNCERTAINTY IN TIMING AND PLACEMENT PRECLUDES GO WITH PREVAILING TSRA AT ANY POINT JUST YET. .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && UPDATE...JP SHORT TERM...JP LONG TERM...AR AVIATION...JP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 412 AM EDT MON JUL 14 2014 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-151100- 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 412 AM EDT MON JUL 14 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE LIKELY TODAY AND TONIGHT. A FEW STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WITH STRONG TO DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN COULD OCCUR FROM TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. LOCATIONS THAT RECEIVE REPEATED ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS COULD EXPERIENCE HIGH WATER OR LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY...AND THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY INSTANCES OF WIND DAMAGE... HAIL...HEAVY RAIN OR FLOODING THROUGH THIS EVENING. JP
The Jackson,KY radar (KJKL), 87 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:28 UTC.
9 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 lightning, 1 hail, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
The 3.88 inches of rain which fell at the London Corbin Airport established a new daily record rainfall for July 14th. The rainfall also set a new July calendar day rainfall record and ranks as the fifth highest calendar day rainfall on record. Records for the airport date back to 1954.
Several trees were blown down in Livingston, including one that fell on a home.
Numerous large limbs and several trees were blown down near Livingston.
Two trees were blown down.
Two trees were blown down on Sasser School Rd.
A tree was blown down on Paces Creek Rd.
A house fire was caused by a lightning strike on Pistol Creek Rd.
A tree was blown down on Combs Branch.
A tree was blown down on Brown Forks Rd.
A tree was blown down on Coal Ave in Walkertown.
A tree was blown down at Lott's Creek.
Nickel to quarter size hail was occurring on Watson Ridge Road outside of Irvine.
Six inches of running water was flowing across the intersection of Highway's 1247 and 452 north of science hill.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, July 2014
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: 535964, 529863, 529864, 529865, 529866, 529867, 529862, 529868, 529869, 529870, 529871, 529861, 529860.