Overview
Severe thunderstorms occurred during the late afternoon and evening hours as a strong cold front moved into the area. Surface low pressure moved across central Illinois during the late afternoon hours, with our region well into the systems warm sector. High temperatures soared into the mid 80s in many locations, which helped to prime the atmosphere for severe thunderstorm development. Discrete storms formed over southeast Missouri and far southwest Illinois initially around 5 PM and quickly became severe. These storms continued to push east/southeastward into the evening hours. As the cold front approached from the northwest, a line of storms moved into the I-64 corridor but seemed to lose their intensity as they progressed across the Wabash Valley and Evansville Tri-State region. While a few wind damage reports were received, the main impact from these storms was large hail ranging from quarter sized to greater than golf balls. The largest hailstones observed were 2.25" in diameter in Sikeston, MO.Wind & Hail:
Wind
Very few wind damage reports were reported during this event. There was some wind damage associated with storms in Perry County Missouri and Jackson County Illinois. The highest observed wind gust from any observing station in the area was 63 mph at the Todd County Kentucky Mesonet station near Trenton. Just outside of our forecast area, a wind gust of 71 mph was recorded at the Mount Carmel, Illinois airport. That wind gust was associated with a potent line of storms that produced a substantial amount of wind damage before entering our area. This line did still produce some wind damage in the Petersburg, Indiana area before further decreasing in strength heading into the Evansville area.
Hail
Large hail was common with many of the storms during this event. Quarter sized hail occurred with numerous storms, but there was also some very large hail reported with a few of the stronger cells. The largest hail observed was 2.25" in the Sikeston, Missouri area. Golf ball sized hail was reported in Wayne and Bollinger Counties in Missouri.
Photos
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Supercell structure over Alexander County IL via Michael Schulz | Lightning illuminating a gust front over Pulaski County, IL via Michael Schulz | Lightning in Wingo, KY area via Roger Gough | Golf ball sized hail in East Prairie, MO via Noah Bergren |
Radar
Here are snapshots of the radar at the top of each hour from 6-9 PM. This was the time period when the majority of the warnings were issued.
(Click images to enlarge)
The graphic below shows all of the warnings issued during this event. There were 31 total warnings: 28 Severe Thunderstorm, 2 Flash Flood, and 1 Tornado.
Storm Reports
The graphic above depicts all LSR's issued during this event. Purple icons indicate large hail, while yellow tree icons indicate damaging winds.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY 406 AM CDT THU APR 9 2020 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0538 PM HAIL 4 E CLUBB 37.21N 90.27W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH WAYNE MO BROADCAST MEDIA . 0538 PM HAIL SWANWICK 38.18N 89.54W 04/08/2020 E0.75 INCH PERRY IL BROADCAST MEDIA TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. 0542 PM HAIL 4 S GRAVELTON 37.24N 90.24W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH WAYNE MO PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.). 0545 PM HAIL 4 SSE GRAVELTON 37.25N 90.23W 04/08/2020 M1.75 INCH WAYNE MO BROADCAST MEDIA . 0553 PM HAIL 6 W GLENALLEN 37.30N 90.13W 04/08/2020 E1.75 INCH BOLLINGER MO BROADCAST MEDIA . 0559 PM HAIL ZALMA 37.14N 90.08W 04/08/2020 E1.75 INCH BOLLINGER MO AMATEUR RADIO TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. 0602 PM HAIL CUTLER 38.03N 89.57W 04/08/2020 M1.50 INCH PERRY IL TRAINED SPOTTER . 0613 PM HAIL ADVANCE 37.10N 89.91W 04/08/2020 M1.00 INCH STODDARD MO EMERGENCY MNGR . 0614 PM HAIL PINCKNEYVILLE 38.08N 89.38W 04/08/2020 E1.50 INCH PERRY IL PUBLIC . 0623 PM HAIL PERRYVILLE 37.73N 89.87W 04/08/2020 M0.88 INCH PERRY MO TRAINED SPOTTER . 0625 PM HAIL 4 W DU QUOIN 38.00N 89.31W 04/08/2020 M1.00 INCH PERRY IL EMERGENCY MNGR . 0626 PM HAIL 1 SE PERRYVILLE 37.72N 89.85W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH PERRY MO PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.). 0639 PM HAIL UNIONTOWN 37.62N 89.71W 04/08/2020 M1.00 INCH PERRY MO EMERGENCY MNGR . 0641 PM TSTM WND DMG ALTENBURG 37.63N 89.58W 04/08/2020 PERRY MO EMERGENCY MNGR SEVERAL TREE TOPS BROKEN OFF IN FROHNA AND ALTENBURG. LIVE 10 INCH TREE TRUNKS SNAPPED. TRAMPOLINES DISPLACED. POWER OUTAGES ON THE WEST SIDE OF ALTENBURG. 0645 PM HAIL SIKESTON 36.88N 89.58W 04/08/2020 M1.00 INCH SCOTT MO TRAINED SPOTTER . 0646 PM HAIL 8 W GRANDIN 36.80N 90.97W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH RIPLEY MO PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.). 0646 PM TSTM WND DMG GRAND TOWER 37.64N 89.50W 04/08/2020 JACKSON IL EMERGENCY MNGR POWER OUTAGE DUE TO THUNDERSTORM WINDS. 0649 PM HAIL CAIRO 37.00N 89.18W 04/08/2020 M0.70 INCH ALEXANDER IL BROADCAST MEDIA . 0650 PM HAIL 4 N MINER 36.95N 89.54W 04/08/2020 E1.50 INCH SCOTT MO PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: PING PONG BALL (1.50 IN.). 0650 PM HAIL 2 W BERTRAND 36.91N 89.49W 04/08/2020 M1.00 INCH SCOTT MO TRAINED SPOTTER . 0651 PM HAIL SIKESTON 36.88N 89.58W 04/08/2020 M2.25 INCH SCOTT MO BROADCAST MEDIA NUMEROUS REPORTS OF 1 TO 2 INCH HAIL WITH 2.25 INCHES BEGIN THE LARGEST. 0654 PM HAIL MINER 36.89N 89.53W 04/08/2020 M2.25 INCH SCOTT MO BROADCAST MEDIA BROADCAST MEDIA PICTURES OF HAIL IN MINER. TIME ESTIAMTED FROM RADAR. 0709 PM HAIL BARDWELL 36.87N 89.01W 04/08/2020 M1.25 INCH CARLISLE KY TRAINED SPOTTER . 0712 PM HAIL 2 ENE ELLSINORE 36.94N 90.71W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH CARTER MO EMERGENCY MNGR . 0712 PM HAIL 10 SE ELLSINORE 36.83N 90.63W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH BUTLER MO EMERGENCY MNGR CORRECTS PREVIOUS HAIL REPORT FROM 2 ENE ELLSINORE. 0713 PM HAIL CHARLESTON 36.92N 89.34W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH MISSISSIPPI MO TRAINED SPOTTER . 0730 PM HAIL HERRIN 37.80N 89.03W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH WILLIAMSON IL PUBLIC . 0743 PM HAIL 3 S MAYFIELD 36.70N 88.63W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH GRAVES KY PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.). 0750 PM HAIL 3 NW CAPE GIRARDEAU 37.33N 89.59W 04/08/2020 M0.75 INCH CAPE GIRARDEAU MO PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: DIME (0.75 IN.). 0752 PM HAIL 3 NE CAPE GIRARDEAU 37.33N 89.51W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH CAPE GIRARDEAU MO TRAINED SPOTTER . 0752 PM HAIL 1 NW CAPE GIRARDEAU 37.33N 89.56W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH CAPE GIRARDEAU MO PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.). 0756 PM HAIL 3 ENE CAPE GIRARDEAU 37.33N 89.50W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH CAPE GIRARDEAU MO BROADCAST MEDIA . 0800 PM HAIL LYNN GROVE 36.59N 88.44W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH CALLOWAY KY PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.). 0807 PM HAIL MURRAY 36.61N 88.32W 04/08/2020 M1.00 INCH CALLOWAY KY TRAINED SPOTTER . 0808 PM HAIL PRINCETON 37.11N 87.88W 04/08/2020 M1.00 INCH CALDWELL KY TRAINED SPOTTER . 0815 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 E PETERSBURG 38.49N 87.24W 04/08/2020 PIKE IN PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: TREES UPROOTED OR SNAPPED; ROOF BLOWN OFF. 0818 PM HAIL 1 SW MURRAY 36.60N 88.33W 04/08/2020 E1.50 INCH CALLOWAY KY PUBLIC . 0823 PM HAIL MILLERSVILLE 37.43N 89.80W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH CAPE GIRARDEAU MO BROADCAST MEDIA . 0825 PM HAIL 3 SW MURRAY 36.58N 88.34W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH CALLOWAY KY PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.). 0831 PM HAIL 2 N OLMSTED 37.21N 89.08W 04/08/2020 M0.70 INCH PULASKI IL EMERGENCY MNGR . 0835 PM HAIL HOPKINSVILLE 36.85N 87.49W 04/08/2020 M1.00 INCH CHRISTIAN KY EMERGENCY MNGR . 0840 PM TSTM WND GST 7 NNW HOPKINSVILLE 36.95N 87.52W 04/08/2020 M48 MPH CHRISTIAN KY MESONET MESONET STATION PGHL HOPKINSVILLE 6 N. 0843 PM HAIL TAMMS 37.24N 89.27W 04/08/2020 M1.00 INCH ALEXANDER IL BROADCAST MEDIA . 0854 PM TSTM WND GST 3 N EVANSVILLE 38.03N 87.54W 04/08/2020 M52 MPH VANDERBURGH IN ASOS . 0855 PM TSTM WND GST OAK GROVE 36.67N 87.43W 04/08/2020 E55 MPH CHRISTIAN KY TRAINED SPOTTER . 0856 PM HAIL 3 NW CAPE GIRARDEAU 37.33N 89.59W 04/08/2020 E1.00 INCH CAPE GIRARDEAU MO PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: QUARTER (1.00 IN.). 0857 PM HAIL 1 NE FORT CAMPBELL NORT 36.66N 87.45W 04/08/2020 E0.75 INCH CHRISTIAN KY PUBLIC REPORT FROM MPING: DIME (0.75 IN.). 0858 PM TSTM WND GST 1 NW EVANSVILLE 38.00N 87.56W 04/08/2020 E50 MPH VANDERBURGH IN PUBLIC . 0900 PM TSTM WND DMG ROBARDS 37.68N 87.54W 04/08/2020 HENDERSON KY FIRE DEPT/RESCUE POWER POLES SNAPPED ON SWANN LANE IN ROBARDS. TIME ESTIMATED. 0900 PM TSTM WND DMG 1 N CORYDON 37.75N 87.71W 04/08/2020 HENDERSON KY FIRE DEPT/RESCUE TREE DOWN ON HIGHWAY 266 WEST OF CORYDON. TIME ESTIMATED. 0905 PM TSTM WND GST 4 NE TRENTON 36.76N 87.21W 04/08/2020 M63 MPH TODD KY MESONET MESONET STATION ZION ELKTON 5 SW. 0905 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 NE TRENTON 36.74N 87.24W 04/08/2020 TODD KY BROADCAST MEDIA PART OF A BARN BLOWN ONTO A ROAD. TIME ESTIMATED.
Environment
Near-storm environment:
MSLP and surface winds at 5 PM | Surface CAPE at 5 PM | Mid level lapse rates at 5 PM |
Storm Prediction Center Day 1 Outlook issued at 1 AM on April 8, 2020:
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Convective Outlook | Day 1 Hail Risk | Day 1 Wind Risk | Day 1 Tornado Risk |
Observed High Temperatures: (Record high of 86 was set in Evansville, IN and record high of 85 was tied in Cape Girardeau, MO)
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Additional data.
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Tornado Watch in effect for entire region, Valid from 4:25 PM until Midnight (the watch was cancelled around 10:45 PM) |
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