Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky · 2008

EF1 tornado, Louisville to O Bannon, Kentucky, January 29, 2008

From Louisville to O Bannon, this EF1 tornado ran 16.4 miles across Jefferson County on January 29, 2008, touching down at 8:00 PM EST and reaching 100 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $3.0 million of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. EF2111 to 135 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. EF3136 to 165 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. EF5over 200 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
EF1
Date
January 29, 2008
Touchdown
8:00 PM EST (01:00 UTC)
Lifted
8:13 PM EST (01:13 UTC)
On the ground
13 minutes
Path length
16.4 miles (26.4 km)
Path width
100 yards (91 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$3.0 million
County
Jefferson County
Touchdown point
38.218, -85.794
Lift-off point
38.270, -85.500
Record number
0801291900-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A powerful cold front set off a lengthy squall line that crossed all of central Kentucky on the evening of January 29. A large number of locations had 60 to as much as 100 mph winds, causing extensive property damage. There were also a few small tornado spin-ups.

A fast moving EF-1 tornado briefly touched down four times in the Louisville Metro area as a squall line crossed the city. The tornado was on the ground for approximately 1.5 miles over the course of it's 16 mile long track. The first touchdown was in and industrial area just off Millers Lane west of the Dixie Highway. The tornado stayed on the ground for one mile before lifting, heavily damaging a church on Dixie Highway, as well as uprooting and snapping several trees and damaging numerous homes. The tornado then dipped to earth again on the west side of the University of Louisville campus, breaking out many windows in a large residence hall and nearby building, and damaging several vehicles parked nearby. The next touchdown happened in Saint Matthews near the intersection of Shelbyville Road and Interstate 264, where extensive damage was suffered by many businesses and private properties. The fourth and final touchdown was in Anchorage where many trees were damaged, blown over, and uprooted, roofs were damaged, and a large outbuilding at a training school was destroyed. Widespread downburst wind damage occurred mainly to the south of the tornado's path as the squall line moved across the city.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, 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 tornado touched down at Jan 29, 6:33 PM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 6:33 PM EST, 1 hour 27 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
633 PM EST TUE JAN 29 2008

.EVENING UPDATE...

UPDATED ZONES FOR AREA COVERED BY SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH AND FOR
THUNDER AND PRECIPITATION COVERAGE. LINE OF STRONG THUNDERSTORMS
ALONG AND JUST AHEAD OF COLD FRONT CONTINUES TO MOVE RAPIDLY EAST
THROUGH CENTRAL KENTUCKY. AT 930 PM EST STRETCHED FROM CYNTHIANA
SOUTH THROUGH LEXINGTON THROUGH LIBERTY IN CASEY COUNTY TO JUST WEST
OF ALBANY.  THE STORMS WILL CONTINUE TO RACE TO THE EAST...PRODUCING
STRONG GUSTY WINDS. STRONG WINDS WITH GUSTS TO 35 TO 50 MPH WILL
CONTINUE FOR 2 TO 3 HOURS BEHIND THE FRONT BEFORE GRADUALLY
DIMINISHING.

&&

.SHORT TERM (TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY)...

AT 19Z A SHARP COLD FRONT REACHED FROM NORTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN...TO
JUST SOUTH OF PEORIA...TO THE OZARKS. AS THIS FRONT PLOWS TO THE
SOUTHEAST WINDS WILL INCREASE ACROSS SOUTHERN INDIANA AND CENTRAL
KENTUCKY LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING HOURS OUT OF THE
SOUTH AT 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH. WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE AS WELL.

THIS EVENING THE COLD FRONT WILL BARREL THROUGH...ALONG WITH A
NARROW SQUALL LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS IMMEDIATELY AHEAD OF THE FRONT.
BECAUSE OF VERY STRONG WINDS ALOFT THESE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF
WIND GUSTS OVER 60 MPH AS THEY ROLL THROUGH. THE BEST TIME FOR
SEVERE STORMS LOOKS TO BE FROM ABOUT 5PM TO 10PM FROM WEST TO EAST.

IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE FRONT WINDS WILL SWITCH QUICKLY TO THE WEST
AND INCREASE TO SPEEDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45
MPH...POSSIBLY LOCALLY EVEN STRONGER. THESE VERY STRONG WINDS WILL
LAST 3 TO 5 HOURS. ALSO...TEMPERATURES WILL PLUNGE 25 DEGREES DURING
THAT TIME FRAME.

A FEW HOURS AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE TEMPERATURES WILL FALL ENOUGH
TO SUPPORT SNOW...HOWEVER THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD BE COMING TO AN
END ABOUT THE SAME TIME. SO...FLURRIES AND A FEW SNOW SHOWERS WILL
BE POSSIBLE BUT ACCUMULATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED. THE BEST CHANCE FOR
SNOW SHOWERS WILL BE OVER THE BLUE GRASS AND SOUTHERN INDIANA.

BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN SKIES WILL CLEAR OUT AND WINDS WILL
DIMINISH A BIT FURTHER INTO THE 10 TO 20 MPH RANGE WITH A FEW HIGHER
GUSTS...WITH STRONGER WINDS IN SOUTHERN INDIANA AND LESSER SPEEDS
TOWARDS THE TENNESSEE BORDER. WIND CHILLS WILL BOTTOM OUT IN THE
SINGLE DIGITS TO AROUND 10...FEELING ABOUT 45 DEGREES COLDER THAN 18
HOURS EARLIER.

WEDNESDAY HIGH PRESSURE WILL MOVE IN AND WILL GIVE US SUNNY SKIES
AND GRADUALLY DIMINISHING WINDS...WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS IN THE 30S.

13

.LONG TERM (WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)...

WEDNESDAY NIGHT-FRIDAY NIGHT...

A SOUTHERN-STREAM SYSTEM WILL IMPACT THE REGION DURING THIS TIME
FRAME. A POTENT SHORTWAVE STREAMING ACROSS THE SRN ROCKIES WILL
DEVELOP A SFC LOW OVER THE SRN PLAINS THURSDAY...AND THIS WILL TRACK
NEWD TOWARD OUR REGION. SOME MODEL DIFFERENCES EXIST BETWEEN THE NAM
AND GFS IN PRECIP ONSET...HOWEVER EVOLUTION AND PRECIP TYPE ARE VERY
SIMILAR BETWEEN THE MODELS. GFS HAS SLOWED DOWN A TAD...AND THE NAM
IS SIGNIFICANTLY SLOWER WITH PRECIP ONSET. SOUNDINGS INDICATE THAT A
LITTLE WINTRY MIX IS POSSIBLE AT ONSET FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS BEFORE
ENOUGH WARM AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA TO CHANGE IT ALL OVER TO A COLD
RAIN. NOT CONFIDENT IN THIS HOWEVER...SO WILL LEAVE THE RAIN WORDING
IN FOR NOW. NAM ACTUALLY KEEPS US DRY THROUGH 00Z FRIDAY. HOWEVER
THE SREF PUSHES 10-30 POPS INTO OUR SWRN CWA BETWEEN 21Z-00Z...AS
DOES THE OPERATIONAL GFS. SO WILL PULL BACK POPS UNTIL AFTER 18Z
THRS...AND WILL LIKELY KEEP THE NERN CWA DRY THROUGH 00Z. SAME POP
PERCENTAGES WILL BE USED FROM 20-40 POPS.

BY THURSDAY NIGHT AROUND MIDNIGHT...SFC LOW WILL BE NEAR WRN
KY/TN...WITH AMPLE RAIN OVERHEAD (INCREASED POPS TO CATEGORICAL).
FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW ALL RAIN AT THIS TIME...WITH A CHANGEOVER TO
A RA/SN MIX BY 12Z FRIDAY. DRY SLOT FROM THIS SYSTEM IS WELL-PROGGED
BY NAM AND GFS...SO WE MAY SEE A BREAK IN THE PRECIPITATION FRIDAY
MORNING BEFORE WRAP-AROUND TROWAL SNOW AFFECTS OUR NORTHERN AREAS
(HOWEVER MAJORITY OF THIS WILL BE NORTH OF THE CWA). COULD HAVE SOME
ACCUMULATING SNOW FROM THIS...DEPENDING ON IF IT CAN STICK TO THE
WET GROUNDS. HIGHS FRIDAY SHOULD OCCUR EARLY...AND WITH SLIGHTLY
FALLING TEMPS WHICH WILL HELP SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. THINK THAT
LOCATIONS NORTH OF A LINE FROM E-TOWN TO RICHMOND COULD SEE UP TO AN
INCH...WITH LOCATIONS NORTH OF A BRANDENBURG TO PARIS KY...INCLUDING
SOUTHERN INDIANA SEEING OVER AN INCH POSSIBLY. THIS WILL DEPEND ON
THE TRACK OF THE SYSTEM AND IF ACCUMULATION RATES CAN COUNTER THE
WET GROUNDS. IN ALL...MINOR SNOW ACCUMS POSSIBLE BY THE END OF
FRIDAY. WILL END POPS BY 00Z FRIDAY EVENING.

SATURDAY...

SATURDAY MORNING LOWS WILL DEPEND ON SNOW COVER...SO WENT BELOW
GUIDANCE IN THE NORTH...BUT GENERALLY LOWS IN THE 20S SEEMS
REASONABLE...NOTHING TOO TERRIBLY COLD. THE COLD AIR IN PLACE WILL
NOT LAST LONG. WITH HIGH PRESSURE QUICKLY STREAMING ACROSS THE SERN
CONUS...SOUTHERLY WIND/WARM-AIR ADVECTION (WAA) COMMENCES QUITE
QUICKLY INTO SATURDAY. THUS TEMPS WILL WARM RIGHT BACK UP ON
SATURDAY...WITH HIGHS IN THE 40S MOST PLACES TO NEAR 50 DOWN SOUTH.
IT WILL BE DRY THOUGH.

SUNDAY-TUESDAY...

SUNDAY MORNING...THE GFS HINTS AT AN INVERTED TROUGH FROM THE
SOUTHERN GREAT LAKES DOWN TO TEXAS. YESTERDAYS 12Z MODEL RUNS
SHOWED THIS WIND SHIFT PASSING THROUGH THE AREA...THOUGH NOW IT
LOOKS LIKE THE WAA WILL HOLD THIS OUT OF OUR AREA...AND MOISTURE
WILL INCREASE AHEAD OF THIS TROUGH DEVELOPING OVER THE PLAINS. THE
OPERATIONAL GFS SHOWS THIS PRECIP REACHING OUR WRN CWA AS EARLY AS
00Z MON. BUT THE GFS ENSEMBLES KEEP IT OUT ALMOST UP UNTIL 12Z MON.
SO COMPROMISED AND INSERTED SLT CHC POPS AFTER MIDNIGHT SUNDAY NIGHT
INTO MONDAY MORNING. GOOD COLLAB BETWEEN EURO AND GFS BEYOND THAT IN
DEVELOPING A SUBSTANTIAL LOW OVER THE MID-MS VALLEY AREA BY MONDAY
NIGHT (GFS ACTUALLY BOMBS THIS LOW OUT). MODELS REALLY ADVECT WARM
AND MOIST AIR INTO THE AREA...SO AMPLE RAINFALL WILL BE
EXPECTED...ALONG WITH MILD TEMPS LIKELY PUSHING 60 FOR HIGHS ON
MONDAY (MOS ALREADY NEARING 10 DEGREES ABOVE CLIMO). INCREASED POPS
TO LIKELY MONDAY NIGHT...AND CONTINUED CHC POPS INTO TUESDAY. COOLER
TEMPS WITH THE COLD FRONT EXPECTED BEYOND THAT.

.AVIATION (00Z TAFS)...

THIS EVENING WILL NOT BE A GOOD TIME TO FLY.

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL ROAR INTO CENTRAL KENTUCKY THIS EVENING
WITH A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS...MANY SEVERE AHEAD OF THE FRONT. AHEAD
OF THE FRONT SOUTHERLY WINDS OF 15 TO 20 KTS WITH GUSTS TO 30 TO 40
MPH WILL BLOW ACROSS THE AREA. WINDS SHIFT TO THE NORTHWEST ABRUPTLY
WITH THE FRONTAL PASSAGE WITH SPEEDS OF 15 TO 25 KTS AND GUSTS TO 35
TO 45 KTS. WINDS. AHEAD OF THE FRONT A NARROW LINE OF STRONG TO
SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL COULD PRODUCE GUSTS TO 55 KTS. A SEVERE
THUNDERSTORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR SDF AND BWG UNTIL 02Z.

WINDS WILL CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL HOURS BEHIND THE FRONT BUT WILL
BEGIN TO LESSEN OVERNIGHT. BEHIND THE FRONT CIGS WILL LOWER TO 1
THSD TO 24 HND FT WITH SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS.

&&

.LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KY...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM EST /5 AM CST/ WEDNESDAY FOR KYZ023>043-
     045>049-053>057-061>067-070>078-081-082.

IN...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM EST /5 AM CST/ WEDNESDAY FOR INZ076>079-
     083-084-089>092.

&&

UPDATE.......MBS
SHORT TERM...13
LONG TERM....AL
AVIATION.....MBS
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 29, 3:17 PM EST, 4 hours 43 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
317 PM EST TUE JAN 29 2008

INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067-
070>078-081-082-300930-
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-
317 PM EST (217 PM CST) TUE JAN 29 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY.

.DAY ONE...TONIGHT.

A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL PASS THROUGH THE REGION THIS EVENING. THIS
FRONT WILL BRING WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 50 MPH
FOR A TIME THIS EVENING. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL ACCOMPANY THE
FRONT AS IT PASSES THROUGH. SOME OF THESE THUNDERSTORMS MAY BECOME
SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY SEVERE WEATHER THREAT.
THE MOST LIKELY TIME FOR SEVERE WEATHER WILL BE BETWEEN 5PM AND 10PM
FROM WEST TO EAST.

AFTER THE FRONT PASSES...TEMPERATURES WILL DROP VERY QUICKLY.
LEFT OVER PRECIPITATION BEHIND THE FRONT MAY CHANGE TO A BRIEF
PERIOD OF FLURRIES OR SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS. HOWEVER...LITTLE OR NO
ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED. THE COMBINATION OF FALLING TEMPERATURES
AND WET PAVEMENT MAY LEAD TO SOME SLICK SPOTS ON AREA ROADWAYS BY
MORNING. IN ADDITION...THE COLD TEMPERATURES AND GUSTY
WINDS WILL PRODUCE WIND CHILL READINGS IN THE SINGLE DIGITS BY
SUNRISE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

A STORM SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO IMPACT THE REGION BEGINNING THURSDAY
AFTERNOON AND PERSISTING THROUGH THE DAY ON FRIDAY. BESIDES THE
POTENTIAL FOR A COLD BUT HEAVY RAINFALL MAINLY THURSDAY NIGHT...SOME
WINTRY PRECIPITATION IS POSSIBLE AFTER MIDNIGHT THURSDAY NIGHT AND
INTO FRIDAY. SOME ACCUMULATING SNOW IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION
DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY...ESPECIALLY FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL
INDIANA AND PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY. AT THIS TIME...IT
APPEARS THAT LOCATIONS IN SOUTHERN INDIANA COULD SEE OVER AN INCH OF
SNOW ACCUMULATION BY FRIDAY EVENING...WITH LOCATIONS IN NORTH
CENTRAL KENTUCKY AND THE NORTHERN BLUEGRASS SEEING UP TO AN INCH OF
SNOWFALL. IN ADDITION...THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL PRODUCE WIND GUSTS
OVER 30 MPH AT TIMES FROM LATE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUESTED THIS EVENING.

13/AL

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 29, 7:39 PM EST, 21 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 29, 7:46 PM EST, 14 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
746 PM EST TUE JAN 29 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0738 PM     TSTM WND DMG     ENGLISH                 38.33N 86.46W
01/29/2008                   CRAWFORD           IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SEVERAL TREES DOWN ON STATE ROAD 37 BETWEEN ENGLISH AND
            PAOLI

&&

RL
Local storm report, Jan 29, 7:52 PM EST, 8 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
752 PM EST TUE JAN 29 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0739 PM     TSTM WND DMG     HAWESVILLE              37.90N 86.76W
01/29/2008                   HANCOCK            KY   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SEVERAL TREES DOWN AND AN OUTBUILDING BLOWN OVER

&&

RL
Local storm report, Jan 29, 7:56 PM EST, 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
756 PM EST TUE JAN 29 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0750 PM     TSTM WND DMG     CORYDON                 38.21N 86.13W
01/29/2008                   HARRISON           IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            POWER OUTAGES IN NORTHERN CORYDON

&&

RL
Local storm report, Jan 29, 7:57 PM EST, 3 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
757 PM EST TUE JAN 29 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0750 PM     TSTM WND DMG     CORYDON                 38.21N 86.13W
01/29/2008                   HARRISON           IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SEMI JACK-KNIFED ON I64 AT CORYDON EXIT

&&

RL
Local storm report, Jan 29, 7:59 PM EST, 1 minute before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
759 PM EST TUE JAN 29 2008

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0752 PM     TSTM WND DMG     RUSSELLVILLE            36.84N 86.89W
01/29/2008                   LOGAN              KY   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TREES DOWN AND POWER OUTAGES IN RUSSELLVILLE AND
            SURROUNDING LOGAN COUNTY

&&

RL

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), 00:00Z

1.0 hours before the tornado, 207 km from the path. January 30, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2008-01-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -40224, lifted condensation level 787 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2008-01-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 394 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 80 knots.1939587897117136Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-40224 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
787 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
80 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
394 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
451 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
4.8 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Louisville/Bowman (LOU), 2 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
00:00 UTC

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 40 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:58 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2008 tornado in KentuckyEvery tornado in Kentucky since 1950Warnings in force in Kentucky nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of January 29, 2008

7 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
January 294:09 PM CSTEF1Cape Girardeau, MO to IL4.3200$85,000
January 295:07 PM CSTEF2Posey, IN7.01002$250,000
January 297:20 PM ESTEF1Marion, IN0.150$100,000
January 297:40 PM ESTEF1Washington, IN10.7200$60,000
January 297:58 PM ESTEF1Clark, IN0.21001$50,000
January 298:10 PM ESTEF1Scott, IN1.8100$70,000
January 299:00 PM ESTEF0Preble, OH2.080$25,000

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.