Kentucky, 1996

Tornadoes in Kentucky, April 20, 1996

April 20, 1996 · NWS LMK · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A tornado knocked over barns, houses and trees as it moved through the Bee Lick community off east Ky. 70.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$40,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LMK wrote it up.

A tornado knocked over barns, houses and trees as it moved through the Bee Lick community off east Ky. 70. The tornado toppled large trees on one house in Pulaski county. Significant damage was done to the house. In Rockcastle county, the tornado moved a house trailer 30 feet in the air from its foundation. The flying trailer took out several power lines and dropped onto another mobile home. A church steeple in the Bee Lick commumity also was damaged.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Rockcastle

When
April 20, 4:28 AM EST to 4:29 AM EST
Where
Rockcastle County, Ottawa to 3 mi SE of Ottawa
Rating
F1
Path length
1 mi
Path width
100 yd
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
37.320, -84.470

Tornado, Pulaski

When
April 20, 4:29 AM EST to 4:30 AM EST
Where
Pulaski County, Bee Lick
Rating
F1
Path length
1 mi
Path width
100 yd
Property damage
$20,000
Coordinates
37.320, -84.500

What these are

Tornado
A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Kentucky in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kentucky, 1996Warnings in Kentucky, April 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5547421, 5547422.