A stalled frontal boundary draped across south central Kentucky interacted with a passing upper level disturbance to spark a long lived round of severe thunderstorms. Storms initiated in portions of southwest Kentucky and then grew into an organized cluster that tracked all the way into portions of West Virginia.
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 LMK wrote it up.
A stalled frontal boundary draped across south central Kentucky interacted with a passing upper level disturbance to spark a long lived round of severe thunderstorms. Storms initiated in portions of southwest Kentucky and then grew into an organized cluster that tracked all the way into portions of West Virginia. These storms were responsible for a narrow path of damaging winds, mostly downed trees and power lines.
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 9, 8:27 AM CST, 2 hours 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 1027 AM EDT Thu Jul 9 2015 ...Forecast Update... Issued at 1025 AM EDT Thu Jul 9 2015 Area of showers is holding on roughly along and just either side of the Western Kentucky and Bluegrass Parkways, with more showers making their way across western Kentucky. Have bumped POPs into the likely range for this corridor through about mid-afternoon. Still expect this precip to diminish somewhat in coverage, but leave enough boundaries to support scattered T-storms, especially down into south-central Kentucky. .SHORT TERM (Now through Friday)... Issued at 303 AM EDT Thu Jul 9 2015 Low pressure crossing Ohio this morning will have a cold front trailing back to southern Illinois. Scattered showers will be found in southern Indiana and north central Kentucky in association with this front. As the low moves through northern Pennsylvania this afternoon it will drag the cold front southeastward into central Kentucky. Though low level convergence will not be strong, we'll be under the right entrance region of the upper jet with PWATs around 1.5 to 2 inches and attainable convective temps in the 80s to around 90. So, scattered thunderstorm development is expected, especially south of the Ohio River near the front. Severe storms are not anticipated, but a few of the cells could produce some gusty winds. Even outside of thunderstorms we'll see winds gusting into the 20 to 30 mph range this afternoon. High temperatures will be tricky today with the front bisecting the area. Will go with highs around 80 in southern Indiana up to around 90 in southern Kentucky. Tonight much of the thunderstorm activity should fall apart with the setting of the sun. Winds will quickly settle down after sunset as well. Some patchy fog isn't entirely out of the question from southern Indiana into the Blue Grass, but there may be enough cloud cover to prevent much fog formation. Lows will be in the 60s. On Friday the much advertised upper ridge will be in place over the southeast United States. The models have been fairly consistent showing a disturbance riding along the northern edge of the ridge and bringing scattered thunderstorms to the region. Mid level lapse rates will be weak and freezing levels high, with severe weather unlikely. Highs will be in the 80s. .LONG TERM (Friday Night through Wednesday)... Issued at 300 AM EDT Thu Jul 9 2015 The synoptic pattern Friday into Saturday is expected to feature zonal flow aloft from the central Plains eastward to the mid-Atlantic as the southern ridge begins to build northward. 09.00z guidance for Friday night in relatively good agreement showing subsidence in the wake of a shortwave that will pass during the day. With PWATs still remaining high /around 1.75 inches/ and a lingering boundary in place, an isolated shower or storm is possible through Saturday morning across southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. A mild night is expected with lows generally in the upper 60s to lower 70s. Outside of the GFS solution, deterministic guidance shows the ridge building further north on Saturday, helping to push the main energy associated with any weather system just north of our area. Will still keep a slight chance in our northern areas to account for diurnal showers/storm and given the weaker cap. Otherwise, a warmer day especially across south-central Kentucky where highs should top out in the lower 90s with mid 80s to around 90 elsewhere. Saturday night - Sunday After a mostly dry Saturday night across the area, models are showing that the upper ridge retrogrades far enough west on Sunday to allow the upper flow to become more northwesterly. The GFS is the most aggressive with this idea, bringing in a stronger shortwave trough during the day, sparking off a higher coverage of showers/storms. Meanwhile, the NAM/GEM/ECMWF are stronger with the ridge and keep those troughs to our north. Will still advertise chance POPs across southern Indiana and far northern Kentucky, keeping south-central dry. After starting the day mild in the low 70s, highs Sunday look to top out in the upper 80s to lower 90s, warmest across the southwest. As dewpoints remain in the upper 60s to low 70s, plan on a humid day with maximum heat indices topping out in the 100 to 102 range at times across south-central Kentucky. Monday - Wednesday A more amplified upper level pattern is expected across the CONUS, featuring ridging across the Plains while a trough develops across the Great Lakes and eastern CONUS. Several shortwave troughs will ride through the northwest flow across our area, sparking rounds of showers and thunderstorms. Overall, the pattern has the looks of being more unsettled. Model guidance varies considerably on the timing of any specific wave this many days out, but overall a blend approach of POPs in the 40 to 60 percent range looks good for now. The higher precipitation chances at this time look to be across southern Indiana and northern Kentucky, where clouds/convection would keep temperatures closer to climatology. Early morning temperatures likely to vary from the mid 60s to lower 70s each day. && .AVIATION (12Z TAF Update)... Issued at 645 AM EDT Thu Jul 9 2015 A large area of light to moderate rain, with occasional MVFR vsby and possibly briefly MVFR cigs will move through SDF at the beginning of the TAF period. LEX will be on the south edge of the area of rain, with BWG largely unscathed. Later today a cold front dropping southward across central Kentucky will spark thunderstorms, but they should be rather scattered so for now will stick with just a VCTS in the TAFs. Winds outside of showers/storms today will come in from the SW and WSW and will gust to around 25 knots. Skies will at least partially clear tonight and winds will settle down. Some model guidance suggests the possibility of some fog or low cloud by Friday morning -- can address that further in future TAF issuances. && .LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. IN...NONE. && Update.........RAS Short Term.....13 Long Term......ZT Aviation.......13
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 347 AM EDT THU JUL 9 2015 INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067- 070>078-081-082-100800- ORANGE IN-WASHINGTON IN-SCOTT IN-JEFFERSON IN-DUBOIS IN-CRAWFORD IN- PERRY IN-HARRISON IN-FLOYD IN-CLARK IN-HANCOCK KY-BRECKINRIDGE KY- MEADE KY-OHIO KY-GRAYSON KY-HARDIN KY-BULLITT KY-JEFFERSON KY- OLDHAM KY-TRIMBLE KY-HENRY KY-SHELBY KY-FRANKLIN KY-SCOTT KY- HARRISON KY-SPENCER KY-ANDERSON KY-WOODFORD KY-FAYETTE KY-BOURBON KY- NICHOLAS KY-NELSON KY-WASHINGTON KY-MERCER KY-JESSAMINE KY-CLARK KY- LARUE KY-MARION KY-BOYLE KY-GARRARD KY-MADISON KY-BUTLER KY- EDMONSON KY-HART KY-GREEN KY-TAYLOR KY-CASEY KY-LINCOLN KY-LOGAN KY- WARREN KY-SIMPSON KY-ALLEN KY-BARREN KY-MONROE KY-METCALFE KY- ADAIR KY-RUSSELL KY-CUMBERLAND KY-CLINTON KY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...PAOLI...SALEM...SCOTTSBURG...MADISON... JASPER...MARENGO...TELL CITY...CORYDON...NEW ALBANY... JEFFERSONVILLE...HAWESVILLE...HARDINSBURG...BRANDENBURG... BEAVER DAM...LEITCHFIELD...ELIZABETHTOWN...FORT KNOX... MOUNT WASHINGTON...SHEPHERDSVILLE...LOUISVILLE...LA GRANGE... BEDFORD...NEW CASTLE...SHELBYVILLE...FRANKFORT...GEORGETOWN... CYNTHIANA...TAYLORSVILLE...LAWRENCEBURG...VERSAILLES...LEXINGTON... PARIS...CARLISLE...BARDSTOWN...SPRINGFIELD...HARRODSBURG... NICHOLASVILLE...WINCHESTER...HODGENVILLE...LEBANON...DANVILLE... LANCASTER...RICHMOND...MORGANTOWN...BROWNSVILLE...MUNFORDVILLE... GREENSBURG...CAMPBELLSVILLE...LIBERTY...STANFORD...RUSSELLVILLE... BOWLING GREEN...FRANKLIN...SCOTTSVILLE...GLASGOW...TOMPKINSVILLE... EDMONTON...COLUMBIA...JAMESTOWN...BURKESVILLE...ALBANY 347 AM EDT THU JUL 9 2015 /247 AM CDT THU JUL 9 2015/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TODAY...ESPECIALLY THIS AFTERNOON IN CENTRAL KENTUCKY. GUSTY WINDS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN WILL BE THE MAIN THREATS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE THROUGH MUCH OF THIS PERIOD AS A WEAK FRONTAL BOUNDARY STALLS IN THE REGION. THE STRONGER STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF GUSTY WINDS AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN. THIS WEEKEND WILL BE A HOT ONE WITH AFTERNOON HEAT INDEX READINGS PEAKING AROUND 100 DEGREES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT WEATHER.GOV/LOUISVILLE. 13/ZBT
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
825 AM CDT THU JUL 9 2015
KYZ027-061>063-091355-
BUTLER KY-EDMONSON KY-GRAYSON KY-HART KY-
825 AM CDT THU JUL 9 2015
...GUSTY SHOWERS WITH 40 MPH WINDS...
AT 822 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING
SHOWERS WITH GUSTY WINDS 8 MILES NORTHWEST OF BROWNSVILLE...AND
MOVING EAST AT 55 MPH.
GUSTY WINDS OF AROUND 35 TO 40 MPH...ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
* THIS STORM WILL ALSO IMPACT...
MUNFORDVILLE...
BROWNSVILLE...
SWEEDEN AND BEE SPRING...
STRAW AND OLLIE...
BEE AND BIG WINDY...
KESSINGER AND WINESAP...
THIS STORM WILL AFFECT INTERSTATE 65 IN KENTUCKY BETWEEN MILE MARKERS
60 AND 71.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THIS STORM...SEEK SHELTER INDOORS AND STAY
AWAY FROM WINDOWS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA ALL HAZARDS RADIO...
WEATHER.GOV/LOUISVILLE ON THE INTERNET...OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR LATER
UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
&&
LAT...LON 3744 8577 3742 8572 3722 8569 3717 8647
3734 8651
TIME...MOT...LOC 1325Z 262DEG 49KT 3726 8633
RASSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
1120 AM CDT THU JUL 9 2015
KYZ027-028-053-062>064-071-074-091650-
BARREN KY-EDMONSON KY-GRAYSON KY-GREEN KY-HARDIN KY-HART KY-LARUE
KY-WARREN KY-
1120 AM CDT THU JUL 9 2015
...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH 40 MPH WINDS...
AT 1117 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING
GUSTY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM GLENDALE
TO BROWNSVILLE TO NORTHWEST OF BOWLING GREEN...AND MOVING EAST AT 45
MPH.
GUSTY WINDS OF AROUND 35 TO 40 MPH...ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.
* THESE STORMS WILL ALSO IMPACT...
THREE SPRINGS...
PLUM SPRINGS...
MUNFORDVILLE...
MOUNT VICTOR...
MEMPHIS JUNCTION...
TONIEVILLE AND TALLEY...
PLANO AND WARREN COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT...
LEAFDALE AND HARDCASTLE...
ATHERTONVILLE AND MOTLEY...
THESE STORMS WILL AFFECT INTERSTATE 65 IN KENTUCKY BETWEEN MILE
MARKERS 20 AND 86.
THESE STORMS WILL AFFECT THE NATCHER PARKWAY BETWEEN MILE MARKERS 1
AND 7.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
IF YOU ARE IN THE PATH OF THESE STORMS...SEEK SHELTER INDOORS AND
STAY AWAY FROM WINDOWS. STAY TUNED TO NOAA ALL HAZARDS RADIO...
WEATHER.GOV/LOUISVILLE ON THE INTERNET...OR LOCAL MEDIA FOR LATER
UPDATES AND POSSIBLE WARNINGS.
&&
LAT...LON 3696 8666 3700 8668 3707 8664 3716 8638
3735 8616 3765 8597 3764 8557 3761 8561
3760 8559 3754 8563 3752 8556 3756 8553
3747 8547 3747 8558 3740 8555 3723 8563
3717 8575 3714 8578 3710 8576 3685 8642
TIME...MOT...LOC 1619Z 273DEG 40KT 3757 8589 3735 8603
3715 8624 3706 8657
RASSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
1142 AM CDT THU JUL 9 2015
KYZ053-063>065-074-076-077-091710-
ADAIR KY-BARREN KY-GREEN KY-HART KY-LARUE KY-METCALFE KY-TAYLOR KY-
1142 AM CDT THU JUL 9 2015
...STRONG THUNDERSTORM WITH DANGEROUS LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAIN...AND 50
MPH WINDS...
AT 1140 AM CDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING
A STRONG THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF MUNFORDVILLE...AND MOVING
EAST AT 30 MPH.
OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING...HEAVY RAIN REDUCING VISIBILITIES...AND STRONG
GUSTY WINDS OF AROUND 45 TO 50 MPH...ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM.
* THIS STORM WILL ALSO IMPACT...
MUNFORDVILLE...
GREENSBURG...
CAMPBELLSVILLE...
LINWOOD AND PIKE VIEW...
POWDER MILL AND HUDGINS...
LOBB...
ALLENDALE AND WARDS...
THIS STORM WILL AFFECT INTERSTATE 65 IN KENTUCKY BETWEEN MILE MARKERS
58 AND 65.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
BE AWARE THAT A GUST FRONT PRECEDING THIS STORM WILL GENERATE STRONG
AND GUSTY WINDS WELL BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF ANY RAIN.
&&
LAT...LON 3713 8600 3754 8581 3748 8547 3747 8546
3747 8545 3744 8530 3744 8529 3707 8542
TIME...MOT...LOC 1642Z 250DEG 25KT 3734 8581
JDGThe Louisville radar (KLVX), 75 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:50 UTC.
18 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A Hart County official reported that trees fell down as a result of severe thunderstorm winds north of Munfordville.
A law enforcement official reported that a tree fell on Highway 61 in Summersville. Other trees were down in Greensburg from the severe thunderstorm winds.
A broadcast meteorologist relayed a report of trees down in Munfordville due to severe thunderstorm winds.
A Kentucky state official reported that multiple trees and power lines were down with structural damage reported as well.
A Kentucky state official reported multiple trees and power lines down due to severe thunderstorm winds. One power power line fell down on a car in Campbellsville.
A trained spotter reported that a tree fell down on power lines on Highway 70 approximately 3 miles southeast of Campbellsville.
A Taylor County official reported that several trees fell down in Campbellsville as a result of severe thunderstorm winds.
A report was received by the public of a tree down on Spurlington Rd in Taylor County.
A law enforcement official reported that several trees fell down on Highway 1547. Also, trees fell down on Highway 70.
A law enforcement official reported that trees fell down across Highway 27 near Kings Mountain due to severe thunderstorm winds.
A public report was received of trees down near Crab Orchard due to severe thunderstorm winds.
The Madison County emergency manager reported power lines down in the Berea area. Power outages due to severe thunderstorm winds were also reported near the intersection of Highway 52W and KY 595.
An amateur radio operator reported that trees fell down in the Walnut Meadow area due to severe thunderstorm winds.
A law enforcement official reported that a tree fell on a telephone line due to severe thunderstorm winds.
A public report was received of a tree down on a trailer due to severe thunderstorm winds.
The Russell County emergency manager reported that a roof was blown off of a barn due to severe thunderstorm winds.
A law enforcement official reported that severe thunderstorm winds brought down trees and power lines.
A public report was received of trees down on cars in the area due to severe thunderstorm winds.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, July 2015
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: 581381, 581384, 581387, 581391, 581392, 581413, 581416, 581419, 581425, 581429, 581430, 581433, 581434, 581452, 581453, 581455, 581457, 581460.