Hail — Leslie, Kentucky

2024-08-17 · near Mozelle, Leslie, Kentucky

Event narrative

A social media reported showed pictures of hail up to half dollar size. The hail fell off of US-421 at Elmer Lane, between the communities of Mozelle and Helton (closer to Mozelle).

Wider weather episode

A strong upper level low pressure system was in place across the Great Lakes region heading into the morning hours of Saturday, August 17. From this a cold front draped southwestward, moving towards the state throughout the day. By the time it reached western Kentucky during the afternoon hours. the warm/unstable airmass ahead of the boundary had already spawned showers and thunderstorms. A line of storms formed ahead of the front and continued to outpace the frontal passage eastward. By the time it reached eastern Kentucky, multiple severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for these strong storms. Throughout the afternoon and evening hours, widespread wind damage occurred in numerous counties. Multiple locations also saw damaging hail. While the main line of storms fizzled out during the evening hours in the far east, additional discrete thunderstorms continued ahead and all the frontal boundary into the overnight for central and eastern Kentucky.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.9885, -83.3933)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1212417. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.