Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky · 2008

EF2 tornado, Vigo to Elmburg, Kentucky, February 5, 2008

From Vigo to Elmburg, this EF2 tornado ran 7.0 miles across Shelby County on February 5, 2008, touching down at 12:46 AM EST and reaching 250 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $175,000 of property damage.

The rating scale

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

  1. EF065 to 85 mph

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

  2. EF186 to 110 mph

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

  3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

    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. EF3136 to 165 mph

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

  5. EF4166 to 200 mph

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

  6. EF5over 200 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
EF2
Date
February 5, 2008
Touchdown
12:46 AM EST (05:46 UTC)
Lifted
12:52 AM EST (05:52 UTC)
On the ground
6 minutes
Path length
7.0 miles (11.2 km)
Path width
250 yards (229 m)
Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$175,000
County
Shelby County
Touchdown point
38.268, -85.203
Lift-off point
38.313, -85.088
Record number
0802052346-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A cold front along with a strong upper level low produced a squall line that crossed central Kentucky. This set off widespread severe weather, and spawned several tornadoes.

Most of the damage caused by this tornado was concentrated in the Flood Road area, as it intensified while moving to the northeast. The tornado destroyed a large, well built barn, and threw the structure 50 yards. It moved an 18 thousand pound trailer four feet, and flipped it. Another barn was destroyed, and every shingle was blown off a well constructed roof top. Several other homes suffered some degree of roof damage. Besides the structural damage, around 40 large hardwood trees were uprooted along the path.

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

The warnings

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 01:10 UTC and running to 07:00 UTC.

Issued (UTC)ExpiredProductOffice
01:10 UTC07:00 UTCTornado WatchLMK
05:33 UTC06:00 UTCSevere Thunderstorm WarningLMK
05:51 UTC06:11 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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 00:48 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), 00:00Z

5.8 hours before the tornado, 172 km from the path. February 6, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 00:00Z on 2008-02-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -62558, lifted condensation level 537 meters above ground. Wind barbs in knots down the right edge.LCL10008507005003002001001 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 2008-02-06The 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 295 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 74 knots.1939587897Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-62558 J/kg
Surface CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
537 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
74 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
28 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
295 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
379 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.1
0-3 km lapse rate
4.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

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

6.2 hours after it, 172 km from the path. February 6, 2008.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Cncnati-Daytn, OH at 12:00Z on 2008-02-06Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel lifted from the surface. Mixed-layer CAPE 0 joules per kilogram, CIN -149, lifted condensation level 669 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 2008-02-06The 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 124 square meters per square second, 0 to 6 km bulk shear 70 knots.1939587897117136Sfc1 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
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
-149 J/kg
Surface CAPE
1 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL
669 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
70 kt
0-1 km bulk shear
23 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
124 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
185 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0
0-3 km lapse rate
5.3 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The surface observations

Capital City Airport/Frankfort (FFT), 24 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

Time (UTC)Temp (°F)Dew point (°F)WindGust (kt)Pressure (mb)Weather
03:53 UTC6557180° 11 kt191002
04:53 UTC6858190° 21 kt311000.7
05:53 UTC6859180° 25 kt40998.3
06:06 UTC66.259230° 31 kt481001VCTS -RA
06:09 UTC62.657.2240° 26 kt481002.4+TSRA
06:15 UTC60.855.4260° 19 kt431003+TSRA BR
06:17 UTC60.855.4260° 17 kt391003+TSRA BR
06:25 UTC60.857.2260° 16 kt271003.7TSRA BR
06:38 UTC5953.6290° 14 kt301003.7TSRA
06:53 UTC5853280° 12 kt301004.4VCTS RA
07:01 UTC57.253.6280° 10 kt201004.4-RA
07:14 UTC57.253.6290° 11 kt191004.4+TSRA
07:39 UTC55.453.60° 0 kt1004.4VCTS +RA BR

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The radar

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 78 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 05:47 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
05:13 UTCTSTM WND GST 60Pleasure Ridge ParkJefferson, KYAT TERRY AND GREENWOOD ROAD. SPOTTER REPORTED DEBRIS HITTING THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
05:19 UTCTSTM WND DMGLouisvilleJefferson, KYPOWER LINES WERE DOWNED AT THE STATE FAIRGROUNDS.
05:20 UTCTSTM WND DMGShelbyvilleShelby, KYTREES DOWN ON ROADS MAINLY TO THE EAST OF HIGHWAY 55. US HIGHWAY 60 WAS CLOSED EAST OF SHELBYVILLE DUE TO SNAPPED POWER POLES.
05:23 UTCFLASH FLOODLouisvilleJefferson, KYLINDSEY AVENUE WAS FLOODED NEAR THE VA HOSPITAL. SPOTTER ESTIMATED 70 MPH WINDS.
05:29 UTCTSTM WND GST 69St. MatthewsJefferson, KYTREE LIMBS WERE BLOWN DOWN.
05:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 E ClermontBullitt, KYTWENTY TREES WERE DOWNED.
05:34 UTCTSTM WND GST 68Mount WashingtonBullitt, KYLIMBS WERE DOWNED. PEA SIZE HAIL ALSO REPORTED.
05:34 UTCHAIL 0.885 E ShepherdsvilleBullitt, KYNICKEL SIZE HAIL FELL FOR THREE MINUTES.
05:38 UTCTORNADO5 Sw TaylorsvilleSpencer, KYNWS DAMAGE SURVEY TEAM FOUND ONE EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHDOWN ABOUT 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF TAYLORSVILLE WHERE TWO MOBILE HOMES WERE DESTROYED AND EXTENSIVE ROOF AND TREE DAMAGE OCCURRED. THE TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR ABOUT A
05:41 UTCFLASH FLOODLouisvilleJefferson, KYBEARGRASS CREEK NEAR CANNONS LANE WAS OUT OF BANKS.
05:43 UTCTORNADO1 S TaylorsvilleSpencer, KY*** 1 INJ *** NWS DAMAGE SURVEY TEAM FOUND A SECOND EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ONE MILE SOUTH OF TAYLORSVILLE ON HIGHWAY 55 CAUSING MAJOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE TO SEVERAL BARNS AND HOMES. THE TORNADO WAS ON THE GROUND FOR ABO
05:44 UTCTSTM WND DMG2 W ShelbyvilleShelby, KYSEVERAL LARGE BARNS WERE DESTROYED AND TREES WERE UPROOTED ON HEBRON RD NEAR SCOTT STATION AND HARRINGTON MILL ROADS.
05:45 UTCTSTM WND DMG1 Ene TaylorsvilleSpencer, KYEXTENSIVE STRAIGHT-LINE WIND DAMAGE TO TREES AND POWERLINES AND SHINGLES AND OUTBUILDINGS WAS FOUND NEAR AND JUST NORTHEAST OF TAYLORSVILLE OFF OF HIGHWAY 44.
05:46 UTCTSTM WND DMG3 S ShelbyvilleShelby, KYSEVERAL LARGE BARNS WERE DESTROYED AND TREES WERE UPROOTED ON MT. EDEN ROAD SOUTH OF I-64 NEAR WESSINGER HILLS GOLF COURSE.
05:46 UTCTORNADO 26 Ne ShelbyvilleShelby, KYNWS SURVEY TEAM FOUND DAMAGE CONSISTENT AT THE EF-2 LEVEL. AROUND 40 LARGE HARDWOODS WERE UPROOTED AT 900 FLOOD ROAD. A LARGE BARN WAS DESTROYED AND A LARGE TRAILER WEIGHING 18 THOUSAND POUNDS WAS OVERTURNED AT 940 FLOOD
05:46 UTCTORNADO1 Ne ShelbyvilleShelby, KYNWS SURVEY TEAM FOUND DAMAGE CONSISTENT AT THE EF-2 LEVEL. AROUND 40 LARGE HARDWOODS WERE UPROOTED AT 900 FLOOD ROAD. A LARGE BARN WAS DESTROYED AND A LARGE TRAILER WEIGHING 18 THOUSAND POUNDS WAS OVERTURNED AT 940 FLOOD
05:46 UTCTORNADO6 Ne ShelbyvilleShelby, KYNWS SURVEY TEAM FOUND DAMAGE CONSISTENT AT THE EF-2 LEVEL. AROUND 40 LARGE HARDWOODS WERE UPROOTED AT 900 FLOOD ROAD. A LARGE BARN WAS DESTROYED AND A LARGE TRAILER WEIGHING 18 THOUSAND POUNDS WAS OVERTURNED AT 940 FLOOD
05:47 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 Ne BardstownNelson, KYA DOUBLEWIDE MOBILE HOME WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED IN THE DOUBLE SPRINGS AREA OFF KY HIGHWAY 605 AND WOODLAWN ROAD. THERE WAS ONE MINOR INJURY. TREES WERE DOWNED. POSSIBLE TORNADO.
05:47 UTCTSTM WND DMGNew CastleHenry, KYSEVERAL TREES DOWNED AND UPROOTED. ONE BUSINESS AND MOBILE HOME HAD EXTENSIVE DAMAGE. ALSO A ROOF BLOWN OFF A HOME.
05:50 UTCTSTM WND DMGMiltonTrimble, KYTREES AND POWER LINES DOWN.
05:52 UTCTORNADO1 Se WaddyShelby, KYNWS SURVEY TEAM FOUND DAMAGE CONSISTENT AT THE EF-0 LEVEL. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 1 MILE SOUTHEAST OF WADDY NEAR 1527 KINGS HIGHWAY OR KY 637 BETWEEN KY 395 AND KY 1472. A LARGE BARN WAS DESTROYED AND SCATTERED U
05:52 UTCTORNADO2 Se WaddyAnderson, KYNWS SURVEY TEAM FOUND DAMAGE CONSISTENT AT THE EF-0 LEVEL. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF WADDY NEAR 1527 KINGS HIGHWAY OR KY 637 BETWEEN KY 395 AND KY 1472. A LARGE BARN WAS DESTROYED AND SCATTERED
05:55 UTCTSTM WND GST 60BardstownNelson, KY
06:02 UTCTSTM WND DMGBloomfieldNelson, KYPOWER LINES WERE DOWNED.
06:04 UTCTSTM WND DMGLouisvilleJefferson, KYTREES WERE DOWNED AT FLOYD AND JACOB STREETS.
06:04 UTCHAIL 1Mount WashingtonBullitt, KYCARS WERE DAMAGED BY HAIL. HAIL SIZE ESTIMATED.
06:05 UTCTSTM WND DMGShivelyJefferson, KYPOWER LINES WERE DOWNED ALONG CANE RUN ROAD AT NEW LYNVIEW.
06:06 UTCTSTM WND DMGJeffersontownJefferson, KYSPARKING POWER POLE DOWN IN STANDING WATER.
06:06 UTCTSTM WND DMGLawrenceburgAnderson, KYTREES DOWN...BARNS COLLAPSED ON VEHICLES
06:08 UTCTORNADO 11 N FrankfortFranklin, KYNWS SURVEY TEAM FOUND DAMAGE CONSISTENT AT THE EF-1 LEVEL. WIND DAMAGE FIRST OCCURRED WITH DOWNBURST WINDS OF 70 MPH WEST OF STADMANTOWN LANE. EVIDENCE OF AN EF-0 TOUCHDOWN WAST NOTED ACROSS ELKHORN CREEK WHERE HARDWOOD
06:08 UTCTORNADO1 N FrankfortFranklin, KYNWS SURVEY TEAM FOUND DAMAGE CONSISTENT AT THE EF-1 LEVEL. WIND DAMAGE FIRST OCCURRED WITH DOWNBURST WINDS OF 70 MPH WEST OF STADMANTOWN LANE. EVIDENCE OF AN EF-0 TOUCHDOWN WAST NOTED ACROSS ELKHORN CREEK WHERE HARDWOOD
06:13 UTCTSTM WND DMGDry RidgeGrant, KYNUMEROUS POWER POLES DOWN AROUND THE AREA. ON WARSAW ROAD...A BARN WAS BLOWN INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD.
06:22 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 N GeorgetownScott, KYBARN AND ROOF DAMAGE WAS NOTED ALONG WITH SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN THE VICINITY OF ROGERS GAP ROAD EAST OF INTERSTATE 75.
06:30 UTCTSTM WND DMG5 E BardstownNelson, KYBARNS WERE DAMAGED. A MAINTENENCE BUILDING WAS FLATTENED.
06:30 UTCTSTM WND DMGVersaillesWoodford, KYNUMEROUS TREES WERE DOWNED COUNTYWIDE.
06:42 UTCTSTM WND DMGFrankfortFranklin, KYMANY TREES AND POWER LINES WERE DOWNED.
06:55 UTCTSTM WND DMGMiltonTrimble, KY1 TRAILER DESTROYED BY FALLEN TREE ON PIKE ROAD. POWER LINES DOWN ON PYLES ROAD WITH POWER OUT IN AGIN SUBDIVISION. TREES DOWN COUNTYWIDE.

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

This ground now

The live radar over the trackEvery 2008 tornado in KentuckyEvery tornado in Kentucky since 1950Warnings in force in Kentucky nowThe forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of February 5, 2008

61 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
February 53:26 PM CSTEF1Ashley, AR0.650$40,000
February 54:04 PM CSTEF0Chicot, AR1.150
February 54:27 PM CSTEF0Phillips, AR0.225
February 54:45 PM CSTEF0Bolivar, MS3.450$70,000
February 54:49 PM CSTEF4Atkins–Clinton tornado, AR121.81,32013139$119 million
February 54:50 PM CSTEF1Smith, TX1.0300$30,000
February 55:00 PM CSTEF2Shelby, TN8.11501$1.0 million
February 55:02 PM CSTEF2Marion, AR12.5880136$18 million
February 55:18 PM CSTEF0Tipton, TN0.250$7,000
February 55:18 PM CSTEF0DeSoto, MS2.6100$50,000
February 55:23 PM CSTEF1Tipton, TN0.750$75,000
February 55:31 PM CSTEF0Yell, AR0.630
February 55:32 PM CSTEF1Tipton, TN to MS0.350$50,000
February 55:32 PM CSTEF2DeSoto, MS to TN10.2440313$128 million
February 55:53 PM CSTEF0Panola, MS0.225$12,000
February 55:55 PM CSTEF1Weakley, TN5.1150$160,000
February 55:57 PM CSTEF1Lafayette, MS6.925$25,000
February 55:57 PM CSTEF3Lafayette, MS7.21,00014$35 million
February 56:02 PM CSTEF0Shelby, TN4.950$50,000
February 56:12 PM CSTEF0Marion, IL0.140
February 56:12 PM CSTEF0Marion, IL0.230
February 56:21 PM CSTEF3Fayette, TN31.1600314$10 million
February 56:25 PM CSTEF1Calloway, KY1.4150$35,000
February 56:36 PM CSTEF0Tippah, MS1.450$50,000
February 56:45 PM CSTEF1Trigg, KY0.140$8,000
February 56:50 PM CSTEF0Tippah, MS2.550$100,000
February 56:50 PM CSTEF1Trigg, KY5.6150$60,000
February 56:56 PM CSTEF1Alcorn, MS2.61004$250,000
February 56:59 PM CSTEF4Jackson tornado, TN7.612551$100 million
February 57:05 PM CSTEF1Faulkner, AR5.5100$140,000
February 57:09 PM CSTEF2Christian, KY14.12752$4.4 million
February 57:13 PM CSTEF2Madison, TN0.4150$200,000
February 57:13 PM CSTEF1McNairy, TN8.9150$250,000
February 57:19 PM CSTEF0St. Francis, AR0.125$1,000
February 57:20 PM CSTEF1Randolph, AR to MO31.92004$280,000
February 57:30 PM CSTEF0Union, AR7.0100$200,000
February 57:40 PM CSTEF4Hardin County tornado, TN16.288035$18 million
February 57:44 PM CSTEF3Muhlenberg, KY18.1375324$21 million
February 57:48 PM CSTEF0Monroe, AR8.075$15,000
February 57:59 PM CSTEF0Lee, AR0.125$1,000
February 58:03 PM CSTEF1Butler, MO3.4300$100,000
February 58:05 PM CSTEF1Benton, TN2.050
February 58:07 PM CSTEF2Benton, TN6.6440$10 million
February 58:10 PM CSTEF1Lewis, TN22.9200$900,000
February 58:10 PM CSTEF1Wayne, TN10.150
February 59:15 PM ESTEF1Greene, IN2.050$1.3 million
February 58:18 PM CSTEF2Butler, MO13.9200$300,000
February 58:40 PM CSTEF2Hickman, TN25.33001$750,000
February 510:02 PM CSTEF3Sumner, TN to KY50.38802263$28 million
February 511:54 PM ESTEF1Meade, KY6.5350$2.0 million
February 511:17 PM CSTEF0Catahoula Parish, LA1.550$2,000
February 512:21 AM ESTEF2Hardin, KY7.1400$3.0 million
February 512:27 AM ESTEF2Hardin, KY1.0300$150,000
February 511:32 PM CSTEF1Hart, KY10.5150$500,000
February 512:38 AM ESTEF0Spencer, KY0.7220$150,000
February 512:38 AM ESTEF2Nelson, KY1.3300$50,000
February 511:41 PM CSTEF0Perry, TN0.120
February 512:43 AM ESTEF0Spencer, KY0.62201$200,000
February 512:50 AM ESTEF2Nelson, KY0.83002$250,000
February 511:51 PM CSTEF0Hickman, TN0.120

All 62 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.