Thunderstorm Wind in Jefferson County, Kentucky

An NWS Storm Survey determined that a swath of straight line wind damage occurred on the morning of June 18th. Most of the damage occurred near the intersection of Poplar Level Road and Fern Valley Road where a warehouse building roof was partially

collapsed, a small building lost some roofing material, and a tree was downed. The collapsed roof was pancaked downward with no debris lifted or thrown downstream. In addition, some insulation from the roof collapse was laying on the north side of the

building, but not scattered downwind. The orientation of the tree damage was NW to SE, and consistent with TDWR velocity data showing a wind surge from WNW to ESE. Severe level wind gusts were measured with this velocity surge upstream of the damage as well.

Sporadic tree damage also occurred to the ESE of the initial damage point along Fegenbush Lane. Damage stopped just north of Luhr Elementary School after a 1.25 mile swath of sporadic damage.

There had been a supercell thunderstorm that passed through the area about 15 minutes prior, however the TSDF TDWR noted no low level rotational couplet with the radar beam at 200-300 feet AGL. Some mid level rotation was noted off of LVX, but at a higher overall height. Both radar data and damage patterns, as well as an eyewitness account just after 5 AM all pointed more toward the second straight line wind signature as the culprit.

A second area of damage was also surveyed in Fern Creek along Volney Ct. Here, a large branch from a healthy large tree fell into the corner bedroom of a home. Luckily, occupants inside where shaken, but not injured. It was determined that this damage

occurred just before Midnight, well before any thunderstorms arrived. This damage was attributed to non-thunderstorm gradient winds. Nearby observations at from the KLOU ASOS at Bowman Field did measure a 44 MPH gust around the time the residents said the damage occurred.

A Mesoscale Convective System moved across the Ohio Valley on the night of June 17th, 2026 and the morning of June 18th, 2026. Supercells congealed into a line of storms as it moved south into southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. These storms brought severe winds and a few tornadoes to the area. Additionally, long residence time of heavy rainfall lead to flash flooding that lasted through most of the day on June 18th, 2026.