High Wind — Franklin, Kentucky

2023-02-09 · Franklin, Kentucky

Event narrative

There were multiple observed wind gusts above 60 mph across Franklin County. The KFFT ASOS recorded separate gusts of 61 and 69 mph, while CWOP station DW5536 measured a 71 mph wind gust around the same time of the ASOS wind gusts.

Wider weather episode

A strong low pressure system moved southwest to northeast from the mid-Mississippi valley into the Great Lakes during the day on February 9th, with the low gradually occluding and weakening through the day. Despite the weakening trend, the pressure gradient was still very strong, and as clouds cleared following the passage of a cold front, strong winds were able to mix down to the surface across central Kentucky during the late morning and afternoon hours. There were multiple measured wind gusts of greater than 50 mph, with isolated stronger wind gusts of up to 71 mph in Franklin County. The strong non-thunderstorm wind gusts also led to scattered tree and power line damage across central Kentucky, which caused localized power outages.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1082880. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.