Top 15 Local Weather Events of the Decade 2000-2009

A wintry mix moved into southern Indiana and central Kentucky on the night of Monday, January 26, 2009. Precipitation began as light freezing drizzle and freezing rain over the entire area, but changed to sleet and then snow overnight into the early morning hours of Tuesday across southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. Up to 6 inches of snow accumulated across the northernmost sections of the CWA. Freezing rain continued over southern Kentucky. On Tuesday the 27th, precipitation changed to freezing rain over southern Indiana and northern Kentucky, and to rain over southern Kentucky. Ice over an inch thick was reported in many locations from the freezing rain. Tuesday night freezing rain and sleet continued over southern Indiana, freezing rain transitioned to rain over northern Kentucky, and rain, occasionally heavy, continued over southern Kentucky. Minor river flooding developed in some spots by Wednesday from the steady rain. On the morning of Wednesday, January 28, precipitation changed over to snow from northwest to southeast across the area. About 3 to 4 inches of additional snow accumulation piled up in the north, with less to the south.

The storm caused Kentucky's largest power outage on record, with 609,000 homes and businesses without power across the state. Property damage was widespread, with the damage due to falling trees, large tree limbs, and power lines weighed down by ice. In the Louisville metropolitan area, 205,000 lost power and it took up to 10 days to get everyone hooked back up. Area school systems were closed for an entire week. Several emergency shelters were set up across the affected region. In Louisville's local school system, 69 schools lost power.

On the same day that 24 states were conducting primary voting for the 2008 presidential election, at least 84 tornadoes claimed 57 lives across the lower Ohio Valley and Southern United States.  Much of the day was characterized by anomalously warm temperatures, with highs in many places across the South in the upper 70s to lower 80s, all ahead of a strong cold front.  In Louisville, a high temperature of 68 was recorded at Standiford field on the 5th, with an early morning high of 67 on the 6th.  The high temperature in Louisville on February 7, after the outbreak, was 36 degrees.

Beginning around 10 PM local time, storms began moving through central Kentucky and southern Indiana, first as discrete cells, and later as a strong squall line.  Eighteen twisters were confirmed, making Super Tuesday the second largest outbreak in number of tornadoes recorded, second only to the 21 confirmed tornadoes on April 3, 1974.  Unlike the Super Outbreak, however, most of the tornadoes in the Louisville forecast area on February 5-6 were relatively weak, with short path lengths.  Unfortunately, 4 people were killed by an EF3 tornado, all in Allen County, Kentucky.  An additional EF3 tornado moved through Monroe County, and numerous EF2, EF1, and EF0 tornadoes occurred with the squall line as it raced across the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky.

Photo:  Matt Pedigo,  Allen County Citizen-Times

Giant hail north of Bonnieville in Hart County April 3

Opening Day at Keeneland in Lexington April 6

After weeks of much warmer than normal temperatures, a powerful cold front brought severe storms to much of the region, bringing the balmy weather to an abrupt and dramatic end. The severe weather on April 3 ended an exceptionally warm three weeks that allowed trees and crops to bloom prematurely.  Wind damage and hail were reported from many locations, and tornadoes swept across Taylor County and southern Casey County.

The tornado in Casey County was rated as a high-end EF1, with top wind speeds of 105 mph.  There were no injuries or fatalities.  The path length was 13 miles long, with a width of 75 to 200 yards.  The tornado skipped, with most damage on ridgetops.   Touchdown was at 8:23pm EDT.

The last ten days of March 2007 had been unusually warm, with high temperatures in the 70s and 80s each day.  The cold front that passed through the region on April 3, which brought such extensive severe weather, also ushered in a massive dome of frigid Canadian air.  From the 5th to the 10th of April temperatures dropped into the 20s and 30s each morning throughout the entire region.  Bowling Green spent a total of 47 hours (non-consecutive) below freezing, bottoming out at 22 degrees on the 8th.  Louisville fell to 25 on the 7th and Lexington dropped to 22 degrees on both the 7th and 8th.

The March warmth caused significant early spring crop and plant growth, which was then devastated by the six straight days of well below freezing temperatures in April.  Losses were suffered in nearly all crops, including peaches, apples, pears, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, corn, soybeans, and wheat.  Almost all of the peaches were destroyed.  Half of the wheat crop was destroyed with $63,000,000 in damage.  The corn crop recorded $5,000,000 in losses.  Of the twenty million dollar fruit industry, $16,000,000 in damage was incurred.  Depending on the variety, up to 90% of grape crops were lost.

Total losses in this region were well over $130,000,000.

Drought set in over the summer and early fall months of 2007, which caused additional stress on local agriculture, but it was the April freeze that did the lion's share of the damage.

Hail Photo:  Tom and Phyllis Atteberry
Keeneland Photo:  Steve Blake

By late afternoon on February 15, a cold dreary rain changed to freezing rain as northeast winds brought in colder air from southern Ohio. Thus began the infamous Bluegrass Ice Storm of 2003. Freezing rain fell nearly continuously through the next morning as temperatures fell into the upper 20s. Hardest hit were the cities of Frankfort and Lexington, where ice accumulations were around 1 inch on exposed branches and sidewalks.  One person was killed in Lawrenceburg when struck by a falling ice-covered tree limb.  Countless trees were destroyed and many area residents lost power for up to a week.  According to the Kentucky Public Services Commission, power was knocked out to 280,000 customers.  Over 3000 power poles were destroyed and nearly 800 transformers needed to be replaced.  The total cost to area utilities was about $47 million, with another $26 million used by local municipalities to clean up the damage.

Photo:  Warren Hornsby

 A slow-moving storm system brought torrential rains to the region on September 22 and 23, 2006, resulting in widespread flooding.  Six people were killed in the Louisville NWS office's area of responsibility. It was the worst general flood since the March 1997 flood.  It was the deadliest weather event in this area since seven people were killed in the flood of March 1-2, 1997, and the Super Outbreak of tornadoes on April 3, 1974 when 72 lives were lost.

Six to nine inches of rain fell on the Ohio River counties of southern Indiana and northern Kentucky, including Louisville, and into the Frankfort and Lexington areas.  Another area of torrential rain brought over seven inches of rainfall to Neslon County as well.

Photo:  Tom WIlliams, Station 50 Images

Record-breaking heavy rains fell in Jefferson County, Kentucky, as well as Floyd and Clark Counties in Indiana as strong thunderstorms regenerated over the area.  Rainfall amounts up to 6 inches fell between 7am and 10am EDT, especially in central Louisville.  Five inches of rain fell in 90 minutes from 7:45am to 9:15am, and rainfall rates up to an astounding 8.80 inches per hour were reported.

There were no fatalities or injuries.  A woman and two children were trapped and then rescued in New Albany.  Ten kittens and a dog at the metro animal services shelter in Louisville drowned when the building flooded.

In Louisville, nearly 200 people were rescued by emergency workers from the tops of cars and houses.  About 50 people were rescued by boat from a University of Louisville administrative office building.  Two children were pulled from a swollen creek when neighbors saw them get swept away as they walked too close to the stream.  Water was reported up to several feet deep in parts of Louisville.  Cars were submerged in a downtown parking lot.  Major flooding affected Churchill Downs and surrounding neighborhoods.  Interstates 65 and 264 were closed.  Floodwaters poured into homes and engulfed Louisville's main public library downtown, several area hospitals, horse barns at Churchill Downs, and the University of Louisville campus.  Thousands of books were destroyed at the Louisville downtown library, with a million dollars in damage.

Other water rescues were also reported in New Albany as well as in Sellersburg.  Massive flooding occurred in New Albany, where cars were set alfoat.  Up to three feet of water was on the streets of Jeffersonville, stalling vehicles.  Water entered homes and businesses in Lanesville.

Officially at Standiford International Airport (SDF), 4.53 inches of rain fell, which broke the old record for highest rainfall in a single day in August (set back in 1879).  Three inches of that rain fell in just one hour.

Dozens of flood warnings and statements were issued by the Louisville office of the National Weather Service.  The average time between the issuance of a flood warning and the beginning of flooding was 63 minutes.  The weather office received e-mails from the public thanking the meteorologists for issuing the flood products in a timely manner to give people ample warning of the unfolding disaster.

 Below is a rainfall map constructed on the day of the flood.  Note the amazing bullseye of torrential rainfall centered right over downtown Louisville and New Albany.

Photo:  Mike Howard

Storm reports.  Red dots are tornadoes, blue are wind damage, and green are hail.

The event brought widespread wind damage to almost every county across southern Indiana and central Kentucky.  It all began as a single tornadic thunderstorm that developed in central Illinois during the afternoon. The storm then organized into a derecho that dove south across the Ohio River during the evening hours.  The line of storms had a length of almost 100 miles and a forward speed of 45 to 50 mph. Widespread destructive winds ranging from 60 to 80 mph accompanied the leading edge of the storms.  A wind gust of 84 mph was measured by an anemometer in Bowling Green.  Winds gusted up to 65 mph in Lexington.  In Louisville, power was lost to over 100,000 homes.  Officials at Louisville Gas and Electric mentioned that power outages were the most widespread since the tornado of April 3, 1974.

During the overnight hours, scattered severe thunderstorms continued to develop within an unstable air mass, mainly producing large hail.

Tornado damage in Jeffersonville, Indiana

Five tornadoes raked across southern Indiana and the Louisville metro over a two hour period on the afternoon of May 30, 2004.  The worst tornado was the first of the outbreak, causing F3 damage along parts of a 19 mile path across northern Crawford County.  Near the end of its track, the twister took the life of a 70-year-old man in his trailer at Marengo.  Witnesses reported multiple vortices with the tornado, which damaged 80% of Marengo.

At about the same time, an F1 tornado struck Jeffersonville.  The tornado crossed Interstate 65 between exits 1 and 2, and missed downtown Louisville by less than two miles.

Photo:  NWS