(NWS Storm Survey). [54] Among the fatalities was District Judge Brian Crick, who represented Muhlenberg and McLean counties, as confirmed in a statement from the Supreme Court of Kentucky on December 11. Cars were thrown hundreds of yards and mangled. The western Kentucky town of Mayfield was "ground zero" of the. One fatality occurred in Cayce, and several other people were injured. Mayfield (EE.UU. About. At least 70 dead as tornadoes sweep US midwest, leaving many without Damage in this area was rated EF2 to low-end EF3.[26]. Mayfieldwas hit hard. Aerial footage of damage in Dawson Springs. The tornado paralleled the OhioGrayson county line, and very briefly crossed a bend in the Rough River into Grayson County. "I think the largest loss of life in this tornado event is and will be there.". [1] Crossing through eleven counties of the Jackson Purchase and Western Coal Field regions during its lifespan, the tornado was exceptionally long-tracked, traveling 165.6 miles (266.5km) while at times becoming wrapped in rain. Destruction in Cambridge Shores looking east across Kentucky Lake. "A good portion of Dawson Springs is gone," the governor said of his father's hometown. [36] Several restaurants, an indoor soccer facility, a barber shop, automotive business, gym, bank, movie theatre, health and rehab center, and many other businesses were destroyed in downtown Mayfield. On the evening of Friday, December 10, 2021, a potent storm system moving across the central United States resulted in widespread severe weather across the region, including a significant long track tornadoes. Structures damaged: 341 In southern Illinois, in Edwardsville, an Amazon distribution warehouse was hit by a tornado, causing massive damage to the facility, officials said. Emergency Management director Michael Hennigan remembers it . "Heartbreaking devastation and loss of life from tornadoes and severe weather across the Midwest and South," he said on Twitter, adding that DHS and FEMA "stand ready to assist the people of Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee.". Please try another search. [22][23], Effects from the system responsible for the outbreak extended into Canada, where the Meteorological Service of Canada issued wind and heavy rainfall warnings for portions of Ontario. [34][35] Most of the structures in downtown Mayfield were heavily damaged or destroyed, including multiple large, well-built, multi-story brick buildings that completely collapsed. A tale of two loads of Kentucky tornado relief collected, distributed More than 100 people were working at a candle manufacturing plant during the storm, Beshear said, and a roof collapse at the facility resulted in "mass casualties. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. The large and well-constructed Graves County Courthouse had much of its roof torn off, its clock tower collapsed, and it had some of its exterior upper-floor walls knocked down. Forest destruction in the Land Between the Lake NRA. Structures destroyed or uninhabitable:356, Lyon County, KY: 1:46 . Injuries: At least 200 AFTER (right): this image shows the damage to homes and buildings after the tornado in Mayfield, Ky. on Dec. 11, 2021. [26], Afterward, the tornado intensified even further, reaching near high-end EF4 intensity as it tore directly through the center of town, resulting in widespread, catastrophic damage throughout the historic downtown square of Mayfield. From there the tornado progressed over U.S. Highway 68, where power lines were destroyed along with collapsed metal truss towers, before arriving at the Cambridge Shores community on the western shore of Kentucky Lake at 9:57 p.m. One person died here, and the tornado produced EF-4 damage, including several homes with all the walls collapsed, large sections of roofs torn off, and uprooted hardwood trees. "This will be, I believe, the deadliest tornado system to ever run through Kentucky," he added. Four tornadoes hit Kentucky. [1] Homes and businesses sustained significant EF3 damage in this area, and two tractor-trailers were lifted and thrown 40 yards (37m), with one of the cabs being badly mangled. ", Kentucky tornado donations:How to donate to Kentucky tornado relief funds, blood drives. A nearby church had minor structural damage. Moving northeast, the tornado raced through Graves County, reaching the city of Mayfield at 9:26 p.m. Mayfield experienced profound damage, including the near-total destruction of Mayfields downtown historic district. Click to enlarge. Where did the tornado hit in Kentucky? [12], Doppler radar analysis estimated that the supercell maintained a nearly continuous high-end rotational vorticity signature, averaging at 94mph (151km/h; 82kn) for approximately four hours and 20 minutes, among a rarity of thunderstorms (averaging 1.5% of all supercells) that produce mesocyclonic vorticity exceeding such speeds. A mother and her three children survived with relatively minor injuries by hanging on to a mattress as they were thrown 200 feet through the air into a field after the tornado swept their Dawson Springs home from its foundation. Tornado damage in Kentucky and other states Dec. 12, 2021 - CNN [11] One of the first tornadoes associated with the storm, an EF0, touched down in western Poinsett County (near Weiner) around 6:40p.m. CST; about fifteen minutes later, storm spotters reported a large tornado near Greenfield, prompting a PDS tornado warning for portions of Poinsett, Craighead and Mississippi counties (including areas to the south of Jonesboro). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Kentucky tornado path map: See the deadly, 200-mile path Activity Planner, CLIMATE AND PAST WEATHER Past Briensburg, EF3 damage was noted along Lowery Road, where a poorly-anchored home was leveled, and a few other homes sustained EF2 damage along this segment of the path. "One block from my grandparents' house, there's no house standing," Beshear said. Structures damaged: 40 PADUCAH McCracken County Judge Executive Craig Clymer has declared a state of emergency the county in light of tornado damage sustained during Friday's severe weather. A school bus garage, metal industrial buildings, and apartment buildings also sustained major structural damage or were destroyed in other areas of town. In 2022, Timothy Marshall, . After leaving Mayfield, the tornado weakened, producing damage at EF2 to EF3 strength and continuing northeast along I-69. The tornado was the deadliest in U.S. history to occur in the month of December. [7] Initial storms developed across central Arkansas around 2:00p.m. CST (20:00UTC), with even weaker activity developing over central Missouri a little over .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}1+12 hours later; additional clusters of thunderstorms developed over southwestern Missouri (forming between Bolivar and Carthage, eventually back-building into northeastern Oklahoma) and central Arkansas (forming southwest of Hot Springs) between 5:00 and 5:30p.m. CST (23:0023:30UTC). Experimental Graphical Hazardous Weather Outlook, Evansville Local Standard Radar (low bandwidth), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Before and after satellite imagery of downtown Mayfield. Over 70 feared dead as 22 reported tornadoes rip through South, Midwest Kentucky likely saw its deadliest tornado system ever, the governor said. Storm and Precipitation Reports [1] Meanwhile, according to FEMA, in Mayfield 257 residential buildings were destroyed and about a thousand more were damaged, in a town with a population of just over 10,000. Seventy-sixpeople have been confirmed dead, Kentucky Gov. Deaths: 1 Timothy Marshall, a meteorologist, and structural and forensic engineer, Christine L. Wielgos, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service of Paducah, & Brian E. Smith, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service of Omaha, later published a damage survey from Dawson Springs which rated this apartment complex as mid-EF3 intensity with winds estimated at 155 miles per hour (249km/h). In Marshall County, the tornado passed along the northwest edge of the city of Benton from 9:45 to 9:50 p.m. with estimated peak wind speeds of 140 MPH. A tornado near Hornersville, Missouri, was on the ground at about 8 p.m. local time. Tornado . Hundreds of trees were downed in this area, and a couple of structures sustained minor damage. A violent, long-track tornado entered Fulton County in western Kentucky from Obion County in northwest Tennessee shortly before 9:00 p.m. CST. Injuries 11 (including 3 critically) An interior view of tornado damage to Emmanuel Baptist Church, Dec. 11, 2021, in Mayfield, Ky. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. (Tomer Burg/Univ. The tornado then followed U.S. 62, producing EF2 to EF3 damage to homes in the small communities of Lewistown and Midway. The tornadoes were part of a weather system that also caused. List of F5 and EF5 tornadoes - Wikipedia [45] 14 people were killed in the Dawson Springs area, and many others were injured. "This is a tragic day in Illinois history," the governor said during a press briefing. Aerial view of EF4 damage in Mayfield, Kentucky, on December 12, one of several towns impacted by the tornado. tornado then continued northeast across the far northwest corner of Fort Campbell Army Base continuing to blow down trees before moving into Kentucky. An aerial view of the damage to the candle factory after a devastating outbreak of tornadoes ripped through several states, in Mayfield, Ky., Dec. 11, 2021. (The only velocities below said average recorded along the storm track, sustained between 75 and 81mph[121130km/h; 6570kn], were observed from 8:44 to 9:01p.m. CST [02:443:01 UTC], as the storm crossed from Obion County, Tennessee into Hickman County, Kentucky). ", "We're going to get through this together and the federal government is not going to walk away," Biden said. The CBS program 60 Minutes interviewed staff from NWS Paducah and survivors of the tornado to share the power of its devastation with the world. [69] In December 2022, a temporary memorial was placed in the Mayfield court square. Asa Hutchinson. The tornado passed just south of the city of Lafayette, Kentucky where it immediately struck a barn and knocked down several electrical transmission lines. "We are strong, resilient people, and we will be there every step of the way.". Paducah, KY8250 Kentucky Highway 3520West Paducah, KY 42086-9762270-744-6440Comments? Click here for an interactive radar loop for the entire event. Sat 11 Dec 2021 18.29 EST First published on Sat 11 Dec 2021 08.28 EST. Cheney Orr / Reuters He joined the newspaper in September 2021 after previously working with . Over 3,778 residences, 183 commercial properties, and 103 other buildings were either damaged or totally destroyed, including the county courthouse and the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory. Forecasters indicated that atmospheric conditions favored the development of nocturnal supercells capable of producing long-tracked, strong tornadoes.[6]. Photos: Before and after satellite images reveal extent of tornadoes In Tennessee, four people died as a result of the storms, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency Chief of Staff Alex Pellom said. [8] Though this activity lacked much vigor at its onset due to a strong capping inversion,[9] the convective cells began to show organization as they progressed eastward. William Widmer for The New York Times. Structures damaged: 1000 (estimate) "Rescues and search efforts are ongoing -- even before the wind stopped blowing, crews were out working," Dossett said Saturday morning. The program was created after an EF-4 tornado ripped through Mayfield, Kentucky, on Dec. 10, 2021. [18][19], The SPC issued a record-setting 43 mesoscale discussions (MCD) throughout the course of the day (12 UTC December 10 to 12 UTC December 11), all of which were associated with the broader storm system: 38 of the MCDs issued were convective discussions relating to the severe thunderstorm activity, and five were non-convective discussions relating to heavy snow associated with the system that concurrently fell throughout much of the Upper Midwest. Numerous homes were completely leveled in Cambridge Shores, including multiple large lakeside homes that were flattened or swept away. Most of the damage in this area was to farm buildings, but some homes near the town of Hartford in Ohio County suffered EF-3 damage. The storm traveled over 220 miles from Arkansas into Kentucky. A neighborhood near the Princeton Golf and Country Club was hit at 10:18 p.m., and several structures experienced EF-4 tornado damage. [50] Almost every house in the small community was damaged or destroyed, including some that were leveled, though they were not well-constructed. Deaths: 4 The governor declared a state of emergency and submitted a request for a federal emergency declaration. 2021 Western Kentucky tornado 1 language During the late evening of Friday, December 10, 2021, a violent, long-tracked EF4 tornado moved across Western Kentucky, producing severe to catastrophic damage in numerous towns, including Mayfield, Princeton, Dawson Springs, and Bremen. Kentucky tornadoes: Death toll from tornadoes rises to 74 | CNN Hopkinsville, KY Scott County to install tornado shelters near mobile home parks More than 80 feared dead after tornadoes hit central and southern US - CNN More significant damage NWS Paducah Lead Meteorologist Chris Noles did an in-depth interview with ABC News on its Good Morning America program about the tornado outbreak. The tornado again reached EF4 intensity as it tore directly through the small community of Cambridge Shores, located along the western shore of Kentucky Lake. Once the tornado moved out of Pembroke, two mobile homes were completely (Chris Conley/270 Drones Aerial Imagery). Serving Madisonville and Hopkins County, KY. NWS Paducah KY Weekly Partner Briefing MAYFIELD, Ky. Three days after tornadoes tore a 200-mile wound through Kentucky, scores of people remained unaccounted for on Monday. Recovery efforts in Princeton,Dawson Springs, and Bremen. In this area, 15 residents of Dawson Springs perished. A fire department building had its roof torn off, and large metal boat storage buildings were also destroyed. Filmed in August 2022 by Chris Conley/270 Drone Aerial Imagery. Numerous trees and large branches were broken near and along the Western Kentucky Parkway, starting at the Wendell Ford Regional Training Center grounds and continuing to near Central City. Several dozen workers were able to escape from the building on their own, Edwardsville Police Chief Michael Fillback said Saturday morning.