Thunderstorm Wind in Taylor County, Kentucky

Trees were blown down by strong winds in northern Taylor County, with three trees being blown down onto Saloma Road near Finley Ridge Road. Trees were also blocking one lane of Kentucky Route 76 in the eastern part of Taylor County.

During the evening hours of December 18th, a strong cold front moved across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, with a line of showers and thunderstorms oriented along the front. Ahead of the cold front, there was strong southerly flow which attempted to bring moisture into south central Kentucky from the Gulf, with temperatures warming into the low 60s and dewpoint temperatures rising into the mid 50s. Still, the atmosphere ahead of the front was only marginally unstable, with around 100-300 J/kg of surface-based CAPE depicted in mesoanalysis data ahead of the line of storms. However, with the strong wind field aloft, even this meager amount of instability was sufficient for severe storm impacts across south central Kentucky, with scattered tree damage and wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph occurring with the line of storms. One QLCS tornado also occurred in LaRue County, as a short-lived EF0 touched down northeast of Buffalo.