When a severe thunderstorm or tornado warning comes across your television, the radio, or you see it on a smart device, that warning information is sent out by the National Weather Service. However, it is not coming from once central location.

What You Need To Know

  • The National Weather Service issues weather alerts

  • The NWS is broken down into local offices

  • Five offices oversee weather in Kentucky

  • Two offices are located in other states

The National Weather Service is made up of 122 offices, each covering a portion of the United States.  Here in the Commonwealth, five offices monitor segments of Kentucky.

 

 

Western Kentucky warnings are issued from the NWS office located in Paducah.  This office also watches over parts of southwest Indiana, southern Illinois, and southeast Missouri.

Warnings in central Kentucky, including Louisville, Lexington, and Bowling Green are handled by the National Weather Service office in Louisville.  Parts of southern Indiana are also included in the region that office is responsible for.

Far northern Kentucky is monitored by the office in Wilmington, OH.  As you may have guessed, a large portion of Ohio is in their region as well as eastern Indiana.

The higher elevations in far eastern Kentucky make up the Jackson NWS office, which is the only office in the Commonwealth that does not have an area outside of Kentucky.

Lastly, a small portion of far northeast Kentucky, near Ashland, is part of the NWS office in Charleston, WV.