Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rainfall in the Southern Plains; Heat Continues in the West

Strong to severe thunderstorms may bring areas of excessive rainfall and flooding over parts of the southern Plains today through Friday. Hot to dangerously hot temperatures are forecast across portions of the Pacific Northwest and southern Great Basin today. Gusty winds, dry, and hot conditions will bring critical fire weather to parts of central Washington state today. Read More >

Overview

Strong to severe thunderstorms impacted portions of central Kentucky on Thursday, May 26, 2022. A concentrated area of damage occurred in Adair County where a microburst with winds up to 85mph downed many trees. Sporadic damage continued northeastward through central Kentucky with these storms the remainder of the afternoon.

Microburst
Photos & Video
Radar
Storm Reports
Environment

Microburst:

Interactive Damage Survey Map - Zoom in and click the points to see damage information and pictures. All damage points are preliminary at this time. Performance of this map may be slow due to heavy internet traffic. **Zoom in to see very small, brief tornadoes.**

EF-Scale

Severe Thunderstorm Winds
Adair County

Date	5/26/2022
Time (Local)	2:37pm - 2:45pm
Est. Peak Winds	85 mph
Path Length	4.6 miles
Max Width	1000 yards
Injuries/Deaths	0/0
Summary: The National Weather Service conducted a storm assessment survey across eastern Adair County from storms that occurred on Thursday, May 26. The survey team found straight line winds of 80 to 85 mph, with one small area showing a distinct microburst off Raines Road of 80 mph. The initial damage was just south of the Cumberland Parkway along White Oak Church Road. A few trees were down or snapped. Wind speeds in this area were 65 mph. The damage increased along the Cumberland Parkway with trees apparently blocking the Parkway on Thursday afternoon. There was extensive damage, both softwood and hardwood trees, all along Freedom Church Road. Trees were uprooted, snapped, and partially torn. Some sections of several maple and cedar trees were ripped off and thrown 20 to 25 yards. Trampolines and lawn furniture were thrown and scattered about. Wind speeds were between 75 and 80 mph. There was significant tree damage by radio station WHVE 92.7 FM. Several poplar and maple trees were uprooted, and part of a well-built barn had its roof ripped off and thrown into a nearby pond. Power lines and power poles were knocked down. On the north side of Russell Springs Road, across from the radio station, a residential property had dozens of trees down and one tree was on top of the roof. All of the trees were facing to the north, or slightly off north. Wind speeds were between 75 an 80 mph. A home near the intersection of Wheat Road and Raines Road had part of its roof ripped open from a tree falling on it. Along Raines Road a 14,000 pound travel trailer was picked up and moved 40 feet. Here was also significant tree damage especially with maple and cedar trees. Wind speeds were estimated between 80 and 85 mph. At the very end of Raines Road, drone video photography showed a microburst, with dozens of trees pushed out in all directions. Winds were estimated to be 80 mph. Further north along Gentry Mills Road there was sporadic tree damage. All of the damage was facing off to the north. Wind speeds were estimated to be 65 to 70 mph. The survey team reached out to the emergency managers in the counties of Lincoln, Casey, Russell, Garrard, and Madison, and none reported any significant damage beyond a few trees and limbs down here and there. The National Weather Service would like to thank Weather Ready Nation Ambassador Daniel Wilson, Adair County Emergency Manager Mike Keltner, and storm chaser John Humphreys with their assistance on the storm survey. && NOTE: The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to change pending final review of the event and publication in NWS Storm Data. For the latest updates, please visit our webpage at weather.gov/louisville. You can follow us on Facebook at NWSLouisville. You can follow us on Twitter at @NWSLouisville.

Photos & Video

Header


Trees uprooted near Russell Springs Road (NWS Louisville)	Tree branches snapped near Wheat Road (NWS Louisville)	Trees snapped near Raines Road (NWS Louisville)	Tree branches snapped near Gentry Mill Road (NWS Louisville)

Radar

Header


Radar over Adair County (Reflectivity on left, velocity on right).	Radar over Casey/Adair County border (Reflectivity on left, velocity on right).

Storm Reports

Local Storm Reports from the afternoon of May 26, 2022. Tree damage extended across several counties, but the most concentrated/severe areas of damage were across Adair County where the storm damage survey was conducted.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
723 PM EDT SAT MAY 28 2022

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

0337 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 N MONTPELIER          37.05N 85.19W
05/26/2022                   ADAIR              KY   NWS STORM SURVEY

            THUNDERSTORM WIND DAMAGE ALONG A FOUR AND A
            HALF MILE LONG PATH SOUTHEAST AND EAST OF
            COLUMBIA. ESTIMATED PEAK GUST ALONG THE PATH
            OF 85 MPH. MOSTLY TREE DAMAGE...ISOLATED
            STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.

0346 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 S FREEDOM             36.89N 85.10W
05/26/2022                   RUSSELL            KY   911 CALL CENTER

            REPORTS OF POWER LINE DOWN AT THE STATE PARK
            ENTRANCE.

0428 PM     TSTM WND DMG     4 SSW YOSEMITE          37.30N 84.85W
05/26/2022                   CASEY              KY   911 CALL CENTER

            REPORTS OF TREES DOWN.

0438 PM     TSTM WND DMG     4 NE WAYNESBURG         37.37N 84.62W
05/26/2022                   LINCOLN            KY   911 CALL CENTER

            REPORTS OF TREES DOWN.

0453 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 S PREACHERSVILLE      37.50N 84.56W
05/26/2022                   LINCOLN            KY   EMERGENCY MNGR

            LINCOLN COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER REPORTED
            TREES DOWN AND SHINGLE DAMAGE NEAR US 150
            AND BOONE ROAD.

0502 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 NW MCCREARY           37.69N 84.54W
05/26/2022                   GARRARD            KY   911 CALL CENTER

            REPORTS OF TREES DOWN.

0516 PM     TSTM WND DMG     4 E KIRKSVILLE          37.66N 84.34W
05/26/2022                   MADISON            KY   EMERGENCY MNGR

            EMERGENCY MANAGER REPORTS TREE DOWN ON
            PEYTONTOWN ROAD. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

0519 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 N BIG HILL            37.58N 84.21W
05/26/2022                   MADISON            KY   EMERGENCY MNGR

            EMERGENCY MANAGER REPORTS TREES DOWN IN THE
            PILOT KNOB AREA. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

0545 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 SE TRAPP              37.87N 84.03W
05/26/2022                   CLARK              KY   911 CALL CENTER

            A TREE WAS REPORTED DOWN ON LOG LICK ROAD TO
            COUNTY DISPATCH. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR.

0551 PM     TSTM WND DMG     3 ENE TRAPP             37.90N 84.00W
05/26/2022                   CLARK              KY   911 CALL CENTER

            A TREE WAS REPORTED DOWN TO LOCAL DISPATCH.

1022 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 N JEFFERSONVILLE      38.33N 85.72W
05/26/2022                   CLARK              IN   PUBLIC

            MULTIPLE TREES DOWN IN MALLARD RUN
            SUBDIVISION.

Environment

Insert synoptic summary.