5:24 p.m.: The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is urging drivers to use extreme caution. The KYTC reports water over the road in several locations across the region and down trees on KY 94 west of Murray near the Graves County line and east of Murray near the KY 80 intersection.
5:16 p.m.: Calloway, Trigg counties in Kentucky and Stewart County, Tennessee are under a severe thunderstorm warning until 5:54.
5:06 p.m.: Caldwell, Christian, Hopkins, and Muhlenberg counties in Kentucky are under a severe thunderstorm warning through 5:45 p.m.
4:53 p.m.: A tornado warning is in effect for northwestern Henry, northeastern Gibson, and Weakley counties in Tennessee through 5:30.
4:51 p.m.: Trigg County is under a severe thunderstorm warning, along with Calloway, Graves, Marshall, and Daviess counties, through 5:15.
4:25 p.m.: McClean County is under a severe thunderstorm warning through 4:45 p.m. and Calloway, Graves, Marshall, and Daviess counties through 5:15 p.m.
4:00 p.m.: There is a flash flood warning in effect until 6 for much of the Jackson Purchase west of Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River. According to the National Weather Service in Paducah, wind gusts as high as 54 miles per hour have been reported at Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah.
There is a severe thunderstorm warning in effect for Caldwell, Crittenden, Hopkins and Webster counties until 4:30 p.m. For the latest updates from NWS Paducah, follow them on Twitter here.
Meanwhile, the Madisonville, Kentucky weather radio transmitter has a diminished signal, according to the NWS, and may not trigger weather radios. Technicians have been called to fix the problem.
10:35 AM:
NWS Paducah has upgraded its tornado prediction to include a moderate likeliness of EF-2 strength tornadoes and above with winds in excess of 75 miles per hour for all of western Kentucky.
Meteorologist Rick Shanklin says damaging winds and large hail are the greatest concern.
"This is pretty serious threat here with the tornado risk," said Shanklin. "At the moderate likelihood level of EF-2 tornadoes and above and a high threat for severe winds in excess of 75 mph or greater. An event we want to take seriously, for sure."
Some Missouri counties have already been placed under Tornado Warning.
Shanklin says the main storm event will start to move across the eastern part of our area around noon moving into the Lakes area and east of Evansville, IN between 5 and 7 P.M.
The severe weather threat for the quad state region should expire around 8 P.M.
The unstable weather system will last over the next 5 or 6 days with another heavy rain event moving in late Christmas day, a slight let-up Saturday with heavier rain Sunday through Monday.
Wednesday 9:56AM:
The NWS has issued a tornado watch for the following counties in our listening area:
Kentucky: Ballard, Caldwell, Calloway, Crittenden, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Henderson, Hickman, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, Union
Illinois: Hardin, Massac, Pope
Tennessee: Obion, Weakley
Wednesday 5:39AM:
The National Weather Service in Paducah has updated the forecast for the large storm system entering our area this morning to include an enhanced risk of super cell tornadoes.
A rolling cold front from the west will result in large hail and damaging winds creating issues for motorists traveling this holiday season.
Storms will begin moving through in waves this morning around 8 A.M. with the strongest portion hitting our area around noon and lasting through 6 P.M.
NWS Meteorologist Chris Noles say if the system destabilizes before noon, it could be difficult to predict how severe that chance of tornadoes could get.
“The way the parameters are coming together, there’s quite a bit of instability, the wind fields are very strong, and there’s good forcing throughout the atmosphere, very strong dynamics coming together," said Noles.
The greatest potential for significant tornado development remains extended from the Southeast Missouri Delta Region near the Missouri Bootheel, northeastward into the Purchase Area and Southern Pennyrile regions of western Kentucky.
Some counties have opened storm shelters in anticipation of the weather event. The threat of severe weather should end around 9 P.M.
Minor flooding remains a risk in low-lying and water body-adjacent areas.
Thunderstorms are forecast off and on from Friday through next Monday.
We will provide further updates throughout the day as they become available.
From Tuesday, 12.22.15:
The National Weather Service in Paducah is warning of severe weather during one of the busiest travel seasons of the year.
Update: The NWS has updated the enhanced risk area to include most of west Kentucky and a few counties in southern Illinois. This area faces the greatest risk of damaging winds, hail, and isolated tornadoes.
Original:
The NWS says part of west Kentucky along and south of a line from Clinton, Princeton, and Greenville are at an enhanced risk of severe storms Wednesday afternoon and into the evening. Supercells could bring damaging winds, hail, and isolated tornadoes.
Meteorologist Beau Dodson says his main concern is holiday travelers.
“This is the holiday season and a lot of people are not going to be thinking about severe weather. So, I just encourage everyone to at least keep one eye on the weather forecast and maybe keep abreast of the latest watches and if any warnings have to be issued.”
Dodson says this month has been unusually warm and may be recorded as the region's warmest December yet.
“This is not a typical year for winter because of El Niño, one of the largest El Niño’s on record. And not just that but a lot of the ocean waters are warmer than normal. The Gulf of Mexico, the west coast, and east coast waters are all warm." Dodson said. "A lot of meteorologists are in awe at the anomaly maps for the waters around the world right now. Every year is different, but this is certainly a strange year and it is showing itself with this weird December weather pattern.”
Dodson says there will be another storm system moving in towards the end of the week that could bring heavy rain. Paducah NWS meteorologist Robin Smith forecasts 3-5 inches of rain by Sunday. Smith says flooding is a concern and adds rivers are expected to flood early next week.
