Morning Thunderstorms are Just the Appetizer

This morning, I woke up to my dog letting me know there was a thunderstorm outside. He’s not afraid of storms. He challenges them, vocally! At only 15 pounds, I think it’s pretty brave of him to bark at an unseen force he doesn’t understand. But when he does it at 4 a.m., I just push him over and tell him to zip it!

Turns out, this morning’s storms were just the appetizer for what’s coming later today. Yesterday, I mentioned that we’d been upgraded to a Moderate Risk (Level 4 out of 5) for severe weather, but honestly, I didn’t think too much of it. Usually, when we’re in for something really bad, the National Weather Service gives us plenty of heads-up.

But after reading their latest update this morning, I’ve decided to head out early to check on the horses and grab our helmets because this one could get rough.

In a Facebook post, they called today's weather a "particularly dangerous situation." The National Weather Service isn't known for being alarmists, so time to get prepared, people!

Comparing the Conditions to Other Storms

NWS: A significant and dangerous severe weather outbreak is then anticipated this afternoon and this evening. Supercells are expected to form into an intense line of storms late in the afternoon and early this evening moving east to northeast.

Conditions appear very volatile, similar to some of the significant severe weather events we have seen over the past couple of years. Be alert for the potential for strong tornadoes, widespread damaging winds, and very large hail.

Hurricane-force winds will make power outages a likely occurrence tonight.

How Bad Will They Be?

The National Weather Service has warned us that tornadoes are a possibility. "The ongoing storms primarily appear to be a large hail threat, but we are monitoring for wind and tornado and will issue appropriate warnings if they change characteristics."

Chief Meteorologist Wayne Hart at Eyewitness News 25 goes into more detail. "Storms will begin to develop and/or move in from the west after 2pm. This wave will include clusters of supercells that will have the greatest potential to produce a strong long-track tornado along with extremely large hail (up to baseball-size)."

Read More: Forecasters Say Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois Will Probably Dodge the Summer’s Big Disaster

When Will the Storms Hit?

The National Weather Service in Paducah services a pretty large area - from Missouri to eastern Indiana and central Kentucky. The storm will be moving eastward and will hit the western portion of their coverage area starting around 2.

Unfortunately, today appears to be another particularly dangerous severe weather situation. The first graphic provides a timeline of the main/most-likely line of storms. There will however be very subtle lift (storm starting stuff) all day across the area, so we are alert to the possibility of a few strong to severe storms developing with tornado potential as early as 1 to 3 pm today. 

When Will the May 16 Storms Hit the Tri-State?

Our friend, Chief Meteorologist Wayne Hart at Eyewitness News 25, posted that the storms probably will hit our area after 2PM.

Storms will begin to develop and/or move in from the west after 2pm. This wave will include clusters of supercells that will have the greatest potential to produce a strong long-track tornado along with extremely large hail (up to baseball-size). These will be followed by a developing line of storms across our western counties around 5pm that will have the greatest potential to produce widespread damaging winds of 70-75 mph along with tornadoes & large hail as it moves east-southeast across #tristatewx clearing our southeast counties from 8-10pm.

A more detailed look at timing.

How to Get Prepared

I always remind people to download the app. When severe weather strikes, we flip over to our weather partners at Eyewitness News25. Wayne is great about not only showing visuals but also speaking for our radio audience so they can understand what's going on. We will be streaming both audio and live video! Turn on your notifications so you'll get an alert if we switch to wall-to-wall coverage. Plus, if your power goes out, you'll be ready.

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