Thunderstorm Wind in Morgan County, Kentucky

A tree was blown down about a mile up Murphy Fork Road from the intersection with KY-1010 near Hazel Green.

A warm, muggy and unstable air mass was in place across eastern Kentucky on July 18th as a wavering front remained northwest of the Lower Ohio River. The first storm cluster of the day fired over central Kentucky during the early afternoon hours before moving into eastern Kentucky. This initial round of storms impacted areas primarily north of the Hal Rogers Parkway during the late afternoon and early evening. The combination of dry air in the mid-levels and sufficient shear led to a a couple of strong bowing line segments with estimated peak wind gusts in the 60 to 70 mph range. The most numerous instances of wind damage, primarily downed trees and power lines, were observed in Estill, Lee, Montgomery and Bath counties. A gust of 61 mph was recorded at the RAWS site close to the Jackson National Weather Service Office. A second larger convective system dropped into the the Commonwealth during the mid-afternoon but then decayed as it moved onto the Cumberland Plateau. However, some cells with this system will still strong enough to bring a few instances of severe wind damage to portions of southcentral Kentucky.