Heat — Caldwell, Kentucky

2025-07-26 to 2025-07-30 · Caldwell, Kentucky

Event narrative

Heat indices reached extreme heat warning criteria July 28th.

Wider weather episode

An extended heat wave across the Quad State region occurred from mid to late July. On the synoptic scale, at 500mb, a 594dam ridge was present across the Southeast U.S., with the ridge building northward to include the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes by July 22nd-23rd. Convection coverage became more isolated the 22nd-25th as the ridge strengthened over the Ohio Valley. The ridge relaxed slightly on the 26th-27th, before the worst of the heat arrived on the 28th. A cold front moving through on the 31st allowed for a much cooler and drier airmass to move across the region.

High temperatures in the low to mid 90s combined with very high humidity (dew points in the mid 70s to low 80s) produced heat index values routinely in the 100 to 110 range from July 22nd through the 30th in Western Kentucky, following a more off and on heat the third week of July for northwestern Kentucky. As the ridge amplified and shower activity decreased, from the 22nd-24th, localized readings of 115-120 were observed in parts of the Jackson Purchase area of Western Kentucky. Slight decreases in heat indices occurred on the 25th-27th as more clouds were around, followed by the most oppressive heat with widespread heat indices of 110-120 with localized higher readings on the 28th. The heat wave continued through the 30th, then a cold front moving south through the region brought relief to close out the month. Heat Advisories or Extreme Heat Warnings were in effect for portions of the Quad State for 15 consecutive days.

For the entirety of the mid-late month heatwave, Paducah, KY experienced 18 consecutive days with a 75 degree dew point, their record longest, along with a record 49 straight days with a 70 degree dew point. Paducah reached a 105 heat index for 8 straight days from the 18th-25th and 100 for 15 straight days from the 16th-30th, both of which were one day short of the records. Murray, KY reached a heat index of 110+ for 10 consecutive days and exceeded 105 degrees every day during the 15 day heat wave. A few readings above 120 were observed including 122 at the Murray - Calloway County Airport AWOS and at the KY Mesonet station in McLean County on July 28th, which were the highest heat indices in Western Kentucky for the heat wave.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1290882. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.