Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky · 2004

F0 tornado, Fern Creek, Kentucky, May 30, 2004

This F0 tornado ran 0.3 miles across Jefferson County on May 30, 2004, touching down at 5:27 PM EDT and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $100,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F040 to 72 mphthis tornado

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F173 to 112 mph

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2113 to 157 mph

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3158 to 206 mph

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4207 to 260 mph

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5261 to 318 mph

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The record

Rating
F0
Date
May 30, 2004
Touchdown
5:27 PM EDT (21:27 UTC)
Path length
0.3 miles (0.5 km)
Path width
30 yards (27 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$100,000
County
Jefferson County
Touchdown point
38.120, -85.570
Lift-off point
38.120, -85.550
Record number
141

What the Weather Service recorded

A weak tornado touched down just east of Bardstown Road near the entrance to the Glenmary subdivision. Significant large tree damage occurred. Roofs showed minor structural damage, but most damage was due to structures being hit by falling trees. The tornado lifted just east of the subdivision, and a funnel cloud was reported near the Gene Snyder Freeway and Billtown Road.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

The warnings

43 minutes of warning. NWS LMK issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:44 UTC, 43 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:30 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
19:15 UTC19:45 UTCTornado WarningLMK
19:44 UTC20:15 UTCTornado WarningLMK
20:44 UTC21:30 UTCTornado WarningLMK
20:52 UTC21:35 UTCTornado WarningLMK
03:10 UTC04:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMK
03:21 UTC04:00 UTCTornado WarningLMK

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The forecast that day

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 16:38 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The air that afternoon

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), 12:00Z

9.5 hours before the tornado, 211 km from the path. May 30, 2004.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2004-05-30Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 58 joules per kilogram, CIN -139, lifted condensation level 799 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2004-05-30The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 112 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 37 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
58 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-139 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
799 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
37 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
17 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
112 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
142 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.2
0-3 km lapse rate
4.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Cncnati-Daytn, OH (KILN), 00:00Z

2.5 hours after it, 211 km from the path. May 31, 2004.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2004-05-31Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 778 joules per kilogram, CIN -28, lifted condensation level 710 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCLLFCEL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed. The warm shading is its CAPE, the cool shading the inhibition it has to break through.
HodographHodograph, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2004-05-31The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers as a curve, rings every 10 meters per second labeled in knots. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 316 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 52 knots.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km. RM and LM are the right and left moving storms Bunkers' method gives; the shaded area is the 0 to 1 km storm-relative helicity.
Mixed-layer CAPE
778 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-28 J/kg
Surface CAPE
535 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
710 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
52 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
316 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
399 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
1.7
Supercell composite
9.6
0-3 km lapse rate
4.9 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The radar

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 37 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:29 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

What was reported nearby

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

Time (UTC)ReportWhereCountyRemark
19:50 UTCTORNADOLouisvilleJefferson, KYAT 34TH AND RUDD STREETS. EXTENSIVE TREE AND WIRE DAMAGE. ALSO STRUCTURAL HOUSE DAMAGE.
20:05 UTCTORNADOW BucknerOldham, KYTORNADO NEAR HWY 329 AND INTERSTATE 71 JUST WEST OF BUCKNER.
20:29 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDBallardsvilleOldham, KYHAM OPERATOR CONFIRMED FUNNEL CLOUD.
20:35 UTCHAIL 1EminenceHenry, KY
20:38 UTCFUNNEL CLOUD2 N LawrenceburgAnderson, KYCONFIRMED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT...MOVING NORTHEAST.
20:42 UTCHAIL 0.75LawrenceburgAnderson, KYREPORTS OF 3/4 INCH AND BIGGER.
20:48 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDLouisvilleJefferson, KYFUNNEL CLOUD ALONG INTERSTATE 64 AT THE KENNEDY BRIDGE.
20:55 UTCHAIL 0.75SimpsonvilleShelby, KYMARBLE TO PENNY SIZE HAIL REPORTED.
21:00 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDLa GrangeOldham, KYFUNNEL DROPPING DOWN OVER LA GRANGE.
21:00 UTCHAIL 1.75SimpsonvilleShelby, KY
21:08 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDLouisvilleJefferson, KYFUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED NEAR LOUISVILLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.
21:08 UTCHAIL 1ShelbyvilleShelby, KY
21:15 UTCFUNNEL CLOUDBrooksBullitt, KYREPORTED NEAR BROOKS EXIT ALONG INTERSTATE 65...MOVING NORTHEAST.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2004 tornado in KentuckyEvery tornado in Kentucky since 1950Warnings in force in Kentucky nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of May 30, 2004

80 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
May 301:42 AM CDTF0Wagoner, OK3.5300$10,000
May 301:51 AM CDTF1Mayes, OK7.2600$30,000
May 306:45 AM CDTF1Grundy, TN1.010$30,000
May 309:37 AM CDTF0Tazewell, IL0.110
May 3012:15 PM CDTF0McCracken, KY1.550$20,000
May 301:05 PM ESTF1Owen, IN8.475$300,000
May 301:33 PM ESTF0Fountain, IN0.130
May 302:09 PM ESTF1Monroe, IN7.075$250,000
May 302:18 PM CDTF0Lee, IA0.340$3,000
May 302:22 PM CDTF0Todd, KY0.550
May 302:23 PM CDTF1Lee, IA0.370$20,000
May 302:25 PM ESTF3Crawford, IN15.0400111$5.0 million
May 302:26 PM CDTF0Lee, IA0.340$10,000
May 302:30 PM CDTF1Lee, IA0.570$20,000
May 303:30 PM EDTF1Clark, IN2.010$500,000
May 303:40 PM EDTF0Floyd, IN3.810
May 302:40 PM CDTF2Hopkins, KY7.0175$300,000
May 303:10 PM ESTF1Washington, IN10.630$120,000
May 303:12 PM CDTF0Daviess, KY0.130
May 303:23 PM CDTF0Shannon, MO0.150
May 303:28 PM CDTF0Benton, IA0.240
May 303:35 PM CDTF0Sherburne, MN0.530
May 303:36 PM CDTF1Iowa, IA0.250$10,000
May 303:50 PM CDTF0Buchanan, IA0.230
May 303:51 PM CDTF0Buchanan, IA0.340$10,000
May 303:53 PM CDTF1Laclede, MO1.0200$10,000
May 303:56 PM CDTF0Jones, IA0.330
May 304:05 PM CDTF1Madison, IL2.070
May 304:50 PM CDTF1Clinton, IL7.080
May 304:55 PM ESTF0Clay, IN0.125
May 305:05 PM CDTF1Woodford, IL9.075
May 305:10 PM CDTF0Fayette, IL0.140
May 305:20 PM CDTF1Saint Louis, MO2.0501$100,000
May 305:45 PM CDTF0Reynolds, MO0.140
May 305:57 PM CDTF0Logan, IL0.1403$250,000
May 306:00 PM ESTF0Morgan, IN0.150$10,000
May 307:05 PM EDTF0Powell, KY0.117
May 306:10 PM ESTF1Morgan, IN5.075$20,000
May 306:11 PM CDTF1Livingston, IL12.050
May 306:12 PM CDTF0Livingston, IL0.220
May 306:24 PM CDTF1Washington, IL4.570
May 306:25 PM CDTF1Washington, IL3.580
May 306:25 PM CDTF1Perry, IL12.075$250,000
May 306:26 PM CDTF1Washington, IL4.0100
May 306:27 PM CDTF1Washington, IL4.570
May 306:28 PM CDTF1Washington, IL18.575$100,000
May 306:30 PM ESTF0Hendricks, IN0.850
May 306:32 PM CDTF0Livingston, IL0.220
May 306:32 PM CDTF0Jackson, IL0.550
May 306:32 PM ESTF0Hendricks, IN4.175
May 306:40 PM CDTF0Livingston, IL1.020
May 307:00 PM CDTF1Nevada, AR10.0100$80,000
May 307:00 PM ESTF2Marion, IN20.010026$19 million
May 307:13 PM CDTF0Clay, IL0.250
May 307:19 PM CDTF0Clay, IL0.250
May 307:26 PM ESTF0Tippecanoe, IN0.120
May 307:28 PM CDTF0Goodhue, MN0.525
May 307:28 PM CDTF0Chisago, MN0.325
May 307:29 PM ESTF2Tippecanoe, IN1.875$1.0 million
May 307:32 PM CDTF0Newton, IN2.520

All 81 of them

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.