High Wind — Rowan, Kentucky

2024-12-29 · Rowan, Kentucky

Event narrative

The Rowan County Kentucky Mesonet station, located 2 miles SW of Sharkey, measured a non-thunderstorm wind gust of 58 mph at 4:15pm EST on Sunday 12/29/2024. Less than an hour later, at 5:02pm EST, another Kentucky Mesonet station in Rowan County, this one located atop Triangle Mountain, clocked a 55 mph wind gust. Mutliple other counties, including Pulsaski, Harlan, and Morgan counties, saw wind gusts of 50 to 51 mph during the afternoon, with even more clocking above 40 mph.

Wider weather episode

At 0Z on Sunday December 29th, a low pressure was in place across the Lower Mississippi Valley, moving northeastward, reaching southern Indiana by 15Z. As it moved, it strengthened considerably. It lifted a warm front through the state by 6Z, as strong S to SW winds began to flow across eastern Kentucky. The cold front then followed, passing through eastern Kentucky during the late morning and early afternoon hours. This system was also accompanied by a very steep trough, which also increased the winds aloft given the tight pressure gradients. Some of these winds were able to mix down to the surface, especially ahead of and along the cold frontal passage as it moved through. This prompted the midnight shift to issue a wind advisory for much of eastern Kentucky during the overnight hours leading into the event. Ultimately, quite a few counties saw wind gusts above 40 mph, however Rowan County clocked the highest speed, at 58 mph in the afternoon.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1229226. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.