Scattered thunderstorms developed in a moist and unstable air mass during the heat of the afternoon. The storms formed along an outflow boundary that extended from southeast Missouri east-southeast along the border of Kentucky and Tennessee.
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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.
Scattered thunderstorms developed in a moist and unstable air mass during the heat of the afternoon. The storms formed along an outflow boundary that extended from southeast Missouri east-southeast along the border of Kentucky and Tennessee. One of the storms produced isolated 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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 11, 1:34 PM CST, 23 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Paducah KY 234 PM CDT Wed Jul 11 2018 .SHORT TERM...(Tonight through Friday night) Issued at 234 PM CDT Wed Jul 11 2018 Heat advisory area looks good and will keep it going through 8pm. Isolated showers and a couple of thunderstorms have developed across southern portions of west Kentucky into portions of southeast Missouri, mainly south of a cold front draped across the PAH forecast area. Surface observations show middle to upper 60s dew points have made it into our far northern counties. This drier air should continue to sink south with models showing the front continuing southward. Models have an upper level high sitting over our region through Friday, and along with the drier air, daytime convection will shut off for the next couple of days. Winds will be generally east to northeast Thursday into Friday, and this will bring temperatures down a few degrees, with lows tonight and tomorrow night in the middle 60s north to lower 70s south, and highs Thursday around 90 degrees. Readings will start creeping back upward on Friday, but the more oppressive humidity will hold off until after Friday. .LONG TERM...(Saturday through Wednesday) Issued at 234 PM CDT Wed Jul 11 2018 Fairly good confidence in the extended with most of the models in close agreement. We start off Saturday With a 595 dm high centered over the lower Ohio Valley. This should prevent convection for the most part. Temperatures will also persist in the 90s. By late in the weekend we should see southerly winds return as the high weakens and drifts off to the southeast. This will allow moisture to start returning to the area as the Gulf opens up. This will allow scattered storms to increase over the area. As we proceed into next week there will be a weak short wave aloft making its way through the area with a surface reflection of a cold front. This will allow for even greater chances of storms as we head into next week. However with the increasing storm coverage and cloud cover it could bring some minor relief in temperatures. In fact after Saturday we could easily top out in the 80s vs 90s. && .AVIATION... Issued at 234 PM CDT Wed Jul 11 2018 An isolated shower/storm may get near KPAH this afternoon, but convection should remain south of the rest of the TAF sites with a cold front sinking south across the region. VFR conditions are expected through the TAF period. Winds will be from the north around 6 kts this afternoon, becoming northeast to east at 3 to 7 kts overnight. && .PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IL...Heat Advisory until 8 PM CDT this evening for ILZ092>094. MO...Heat Advisory until 8 PM CDT this evening for MOZ108>112-114. IN...None. KY...Heat Advisory until 8 PM CDT this evening for KYZ001>006. && SHORT TERM...RST LONG TERM...KH AVIATION...RST
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Paducah KY 348 AM CDT Wed Jul 11 2018 ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087- 100-107>112-114-121000- 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- 348 AM CDT Wed Jul 11 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, and southeast Missouri. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight A Heat Advisory is in effect for portions of southeast Missouri, far western Kentucky and the southern tip of Illinois, from 11 AM to 8 PM. There is a slight chance of thunderstorms today across southeast Missouri and west Kentucky. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday There is a chance of thunderstorms Sunday through Tuesday area wide. There is just a slight chance of storms Saturday across the Ozark Foothill region. Heat index values over the weekend should peak from 100 to 105 degrees in the afternoon. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated.
The Paducah radar (KPAH), 72 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:57 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Shingles were blown off a roof, and a large tree was down at a residence on Highway 783.
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, July 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: 762103.