Kentucky, 1997

Tornadoes in Kentucky, March 28, 1997

March 28, 1997 · NWS LMK · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

An F2 tornado touched down 1 mile west of Summer Shade just inside the Metcalfe-Barren county boarder at the intersection of Highway 90 and the Milam-Clark road killing a 28 year old woman and injuring her husband and two children. The family was thrown from their mobile home which was completely destroyed and blown away.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
6
Property damage
$1.0 million
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.

An F2 tornado touched down 1 mile west of Summer Shade just inside the Metcalfe-Barren county boarder at the intersection of Highway 90 and the Milam-Clark road killing a 28 year old woman and injuring her husband and two children. The family was thrown from their mobile home which was completely destroyed and blown away. From there, the tornado crossed Highway 90 and Highway 640 with houses damaged and some mobile homes destroyed. Then it crossed Highway 163 just south of Goodluck where one house was completely lifted off its foundation and then set back down again. The tornado proceeded into southwestern Adair county and lifted just north of Breeding. Over 100 barns, 11 mobile homes and 8 houses saw extensive structural damage or were completely destroyed across Metcalfe county with an additional 20 houses with at least moderate damage. Many other residences, barns and outbuildings received minor damage. No major damage or injuries were reported in Adair county.

The radar

The Nashville radar (KOHX), 103 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:16 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Metcalfe

When
March 28, 8:15 PM EST to 8:45 PM EST
Where
Metcalfe County, Summer Shade to 1 mi NE of Curtis
Rating
F2
Path length
15 mi
Path width
200 yd
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
6 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage
$1.0 million
Coordinates
36.880, -85.720

Tornado, Adair

When
March 28, 8:45 PM EST to 8:47 PM EST
Where
Adair County, Breeding to 1 mi N of Breeding
Rating
F2
Path length
1 mi
Path width
200 yd
Coordinates
36.970, -85.430

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Tornado, Metcalfe1997-03-2828FemaleMobile/Trailer HomeDirect

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 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Kentucky, 1997Warnings in Kentucky, March 1997

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: 5597227, 5597228.