Thunderstorms along the leading edge of a fairly disorganized mesoscale convective system produced gusty winds and isolated tree damage. The storms occurred well ahead of a cold front that extended from the Great Lakes to the southern Plains.
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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.
Thunderstorms along the leading edge of a fairly disorganized mesoscale convective system produced gusty winds and isolated tree damage. The storms occurred well ahead of a cold front that extended from the Great Lakes to the southern Plains. A broad 500 mb trough extended from the Great Lakes southward through the Mississippi Valley.
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 8, 2:25 AM CST, 28 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Paducah KY 325 AM CDT Wed Aug 8 2018 .SHORT TERM...(Today through Friday night) Issued at 325 AM CDT Wed Aug 8 2018 Seasonably warm and humid conditions expected through the short term period, with diminishing precip chances after today. Broad H50 cyclonic flow in place early today will gradually turn more wnwly as the day progresses. A weak cold front that will try to work its way into the region today and help to generate sct storms with very heavy rain over portions of western KY will likely just wash out by tonight/Thursday. This pattern will leave us warm and muggy Thu/Fri, but with little low/mid level forcing to organize much of a convection threat other than a small chance of isolated thunderstorms during the heat of the day. Most places will be rain-free after today. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Tuesday) Issued at 325 AM CDT Wed Aug 8 2018 Although the medium range deterministic guidance, mainly the ECMWF and GFS, continue to develop, close, and deepen a stacked low over Ohio Sunday and Monday, there continues to be high variability on the persistence of this low into the middle of next week. In addition, the same guidance is attempting to generate a closed low over OK/KS as early as late Sunday, gradually phasing the low into the more active northern stream and moving the low/trough into the Middle Mississippi Valley. Ironically, this weekend, which was drier in forecast packages the previous week, is trending toward lower and/or no PoPs again with this package. In addition, the regionally initialized model blend was plastering the eastern 1/2 of the WFO PAH forecast with chance PoPs Monday, The guidance has now backed off significantly in this area, but introducing PoPs into western sections Tuesday into Wednesday, associated with the approach/phasing of the aforementioned low expected over KS/OK on Sunday. This does not inspire high forecast confidence for precipitation this weekend and early next week, given the spatial variability of the mean trough axis from the progression of the Ohio closed low and the development and translation of the KS/OK low into the Midwest early next week. Adjusted and slightly lowered the PoPs moving into southeast Missouri with the KS/OK low early next week. Otherwise, left the lower chance PoPs and/or no PoP forecast in place for the weekend and into Monday. With the proximity of higher vorticity rotating around the closed low forecast over Ohio this weekend becoming less of a factor, any corresponding probability (which was low already) for landspout/cold air funnel development mentioned for eastern sections of the WFO PAH forecast area has now become non-existent and will not be mentioned in the hazardous weather outlook at this time. && .AVIATION... Issued at 1222 AM CDT Wed Aug 8 2018 Scattered showers and thunderstorms will were developing coincident with a weak low level convergence zone across mainly the southern half of the area at midnight. This should continue to translate east through the night. Expect better coverage over the southern half of the area, with lesser coverage over the northern half. After a potential lull in the activity during the morning, more development is expected during the peak heating of the afternoon, again focused primarily in the southern half of the area. Mainly VFR conditions are forecast, but some MVFR ceilings are possible with developing cumulus from late morning into early afternoon. Winds will be light and variable tonight, then southwest around 5 knots on Wednesday. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...None. MO...None. IN...None. KY...None. && SHORT TERM...GM LONG TERM...Smith AVIATION...RJP
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Paducah KY 853 PM CDT Tue Aug 7 2018 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-081000- Jefferson-Wayne IL-Edwards-Wabash-Perry IL-Franklin-Hamilton- White-Jackson-Williamson-Saline-Gallatin-Union-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- 853 PM CDT Tue Aug 7 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, and southeast Missouri. .DAY ONE...Tonight A small chance of thunderstorms continues tonight, with better chances across southern portions of Missouri and into western Kentucky. Lightning and locally heavy rain are the main concerns. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday A chance of thunderstorms is forecast Wednesday through Sunday, especially during the heat of the day. A few storms becoming strong or reaching severe limits cannot be ruled out. The best chances for stronger storms would be nearest to the closed low pressure system which will be lingering in the Ohio valley. Given the proximity of the low, there may also be a small chance of a landspout or cold air funnel, particularly for eastern sections of the outlook area. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters should monitor the latest forecasts and updates.
The Ft Campbell radar (KHPX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 08:53 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Tree limbs were blown down on Highway 181.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, August 2018
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: 771455.