Hail — Hickman, Kentucky

2025-03-15 · near South Columbus, Hickman, Kentucky

Event narrative

Quarter size hail occurred in Columbus.

Wider weather episode

A significant severe weather episode unfolded across west Kentucky in the early morning hours of the 15th, as a line of storms lifted northeast from the Purchase Area through northwest Kentucky. A strong negative-tilt 500mb trough moved northeast from Kansas to the Upper Midwest through the day and into the evening on the 14th. The associated 978mb surface low followed a similar track, and led to a rapid increase in low-level moisture just ahead of a trailing dry line that moved eastward into west Kentucky on the morning of the 15th. The moisture return was sufficient for 1000-2000J/kg of CAPE to develop. Wind fields were strong, but not as strong as they were hours earlier over southeast Missouri where numerous strong tornadoes occurred. Upon entering west Kentucky, those storms transitioned to more of a line and produced more widespread straight line wind damage, mainly to trees and power poles. Eventually, the storms transitioned again to produce very large hail. Golf ball size hail was reported from Ledbetter to Clay to Sebree. Daviess County and Owensboro took the worst hit when baseball size hail blown by 50 mph winds damaged roofs, windows, and siding of numerous homes and other buildings. Countless vehicles were also damaged.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.7600, -89.1000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1247217. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.