Tornadoes · United States · Kentucky · 2012

EF1 tornado, Greenville, Kentucky, February 29, 2012

Name: EF1 tornado, Greenville, Kentucky, February 29, 2012
Start: 2012-02-29T14:45:00.000Z
End: 2012-02-29T14:46:00.000Z
Location: Greenville, Kentucky

This EF1 tornado ran 0.1 miles across Muhlenberg County on February 29, 2012, touching down at 8:45 AM CST and reaching 30 yards wide. It killed nobody, and did $30,000 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.

EF065 to 85 mph
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 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.
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.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
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.
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: EF1
Date: February 29, 2012
Touchdown: 8:45 AM CST (14:45 UTC)
Lifted: 8:46 AM CST (14:46 UTC)
On the ground: 1 minutes
Path length: 0.1 miles (0.2 km)
Path width: 30 yards (27 m)
Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $30,000
County: Muhlenberg County
Touchdown point: 37.198, -87.188
Lift-off point: 37.199, -87.186
Record number: 1202290845-01

What the Weather Service recorded

A squall line with embedded sustained supercells entered western Kentucky early in the morning. The embedded supercells raced east-northeast at 60 to 70 mph, while the line moved southeast at a slower rate. The storms strengthened as they encountered richer low-level moisture, with surface dew points around 60 degrees spreading rapidly north-northeastward up the Mississippi Valley. Intense low to mid-level wind fields maintained the intensity of tornadic storms despite weak instability due to lack of solar heating. A south-southwesterly low level jet from 60 to 70 knots veered to west-southwest around 75 knots at 500 mb. By mid-morning, the solid squall line evolved into a broken line of discrete storms over the Pennyrile region and Kentucky Lake region. While these discrete storms maintained severe levels, their tornado production decreased.

The tornado touched down on the east side of Greenville and moved rapidly northeast. A tied-down mobile home was completely destroyed. The mobile home rolled five times with an occupant in it, but he received only minor injuries. A modular home was moved off its block foundation. Roofs were blown off homes in Greenville, and the middle school lost a significant part of its roof. Numerous pine and cedar tree trunks were snapped off. There was minor siding damage to homes, and a barn lost its roof. Metal bleachers were tossed. The tornado damage path ended at U.S. Highway 431 at Cleaton. There was at least one eyewitness account of the tornado. Peak winds were near 120 mph. The average path width was 180 yards.

A very brief tornado occurred in the southwest part of Greenville. The path length was 700 feet, and the path width was 100 feet. An apartment building lost some of its roof decking. There was minor damage to the siding of a few houses. Large branches were snapped off trees. A barn lost part of its roof. Peak winds were estimated near 95 mph.

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 07:15 UTC and running to 16:30 UTC.

Issued (UTC)	Expired	Product	Office
07:15 UTC	16:30 UTC	Tornado Watch	PAH
12:34 UTC	13:00 UTC	Tornado Warning	PAH
12:58 UTC	13:15 UTC	Tornado Warning	PAH
13:20 UTC	13:45 UTC	Tornado Warning	PAH
13:58 UTC	14:15 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH
14:50 UTC	15:15 UTC	Tornado Warning	PAH
15:19 UTC	15:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH
16:14 UTC	16:25 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH
16:31 UTC	17:00 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH
17:17 UTC	17:45 UTC	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	PAH

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 13:00 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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the tornado touched down, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the tornado touched down at Feb 29, 4:12 AM CST, 4 hours 33 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 29, 4:12 AM CST, 4 hours 33 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
412 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

.SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT)
ISSUED AT 355 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

DELAYED DISCUSSION DUE TO ONGOING SEVERE WEATHER.

CURRENT LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS OVER SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AND
SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS CONTINUE TO MOVE INTO INCREASING INSTABILITY
AND SHEAR AT 4 AM CST. MAINTENANCE OF THE TORNADIC CIRCULATIONS
WILL LIKELY PERSIST AS ISOLATED SUPERCELLS TAP INTO INCREASING
BULK SHEAR ABOVE 60 KTS...HELICITIES ABOVE 500 M2/S2...AND MOIST
UNSTABLE CAPES EXCEEDING 1000 J/KG THROUGH 6 AM CST.

PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST STORM PREDICTION CENTER OUTLOOKS AND
DISCUSSIONS FOR MORE SPECIFIC DETAILS.

ANOTHER ZONE OF MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AND THETAE ADVECTION IS
APPEARING TO INCREASE OVER SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS AND THE PENNYRILE
REGION OF WEST KENTUCKY AS OF 10Z. THIS MAY AID IN THE MAINTENANCE
OF THE SOUTHWEST ILLINOIS SUPERCELL/TORNADO THROUGH AT LEAST 12Z.
SOME REGENERATION AND INITIATION OF NEW CONVECTION MAY OCCUR IN
WESTERN KENTUCKY BETWEEN 5 AM AND 7 AM CST.

DEPENDING ON THE TIMING OF THE FRONTAL PASSAGE...ADDITIONAL
CONVECTION MAY DEVELOP DURING THE LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON
OVER THE SOUTHERN PENNYRILE REGION OF WEST KENTUCKY...PER THE 3KM
HRRR 1 KM REFLECTIVITY FORECASTS THROUGH NOON.

THE NEXT CHANCE FOR SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL WORK NORTHWARD
FROM THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY LATE THURSDAY NIGHT...WITH THE
BEST INSTABILITY...SHEAR...AND MOISTURE EXPECTED DURING THE LATE
MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON HOURS ON FRIDAY. THE 00Z-06Z
DETERMINISTIC GFS GUIDANCE STILL APPEARS TO HAVE A CONSISTENT
HANDLE ON THE TIMING AND PLACEMENT OF THIS CONVECTION AND WAS
GENERALLY FOLLOWED WITH THE SHORT TERM UPDATES.

.LONG TERM...(SATURDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY)
ISSUED AT 355 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

FORECAST CONFIDENCE IN THE EXTENDED PERIODS IS QUITE HIGH. THE
ONLY POPS ARE ON SUNDAY WHEN THE GFS AND ECMWF SWEEP A FULL LATITUDE
TROUGH THROUGH THE REGION. THEY GENERATE A SATURATED LAYER WITH
STEEP LAPSE RATES GENERALLY AT AND ABOVE 700MB...WHICH IS IN THE -15
TO -25 DEGREE RANGE. CERTAINLY CANNOT RULE OUT ISOLATED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS AT SOME POINT SUNDAY EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
THERE IS A LOT OF DRY AIR AND STEEP LAPSE RATES BELOW 700MB...SO
THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR DRY THUNDERSTORMS AND STRONG MIXING.

SOME RECENT MODEL RUNS BRING THE VERY ELEVATED CONVECTION INTO THE
AREA SATURDAY NIGHT...WHEN TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE JUST
BELOW FREEZING...WHICH COULD ALLOW SNOW TO REACH THE GROUND. FOR NOW
HAVE A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS ONLY ON SUNDAY. GUSTY WEST
NORTHWEST WINDS WILL IMPACT MUCH OF THE AREA...REGARDLESS OF
PRECIPITATION. LATER SHIFTS WILL HAVE TO CLOSELY MONITOR THE ODD
POTENTIALS WITH THIS SYSTEM.

OTHERWISE SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL DOMINATE THE REGION OVER THE
WEEKEND AND INTO MONDAY. TEMPERATURES WILL BE CLOSE TO NORMAL LEVELS
FOR A CHANGE. SOUTHERLY RETURN FLOW WILL COMMENCE LATE MONDAY...AND
VERY GUSTY SOUTH WINDS ARE EXPECTED TUESDAY...AS TEMPERATURES WARM
WELL BACK INTO THE 60S. THE LATEST GFS AND ECMWF HOLD OFF OUR NEXT
CHANCE OF CONVECTION TIL AT LAST WEDNESDAY...WHEN ANOTHER FRONT WILL
MOVE INTO THE REGION.

&&

.AVIATION...(FOR THE 09Z TAFS THROUGH 09Z EARLY THURSDAY MORNING)
ISSUED AT 355 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

MAIN CONCERN REMAINS STRONG THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL IN THE FIRST FEW
HOURS OF THE 12Z TAF PERIOD...AS A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE
REGION. MVFR CEILINGS WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE AREA AS THE STORMS
APPROACH. THEN...PERIODS OF IFR CEILINGS AND LOCALLY STRONG WIND
GUSTS CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE THUNDERSTORMS. ANY LINGERING
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL SHIFT EAST OF THE TERMINALS BY LATE
WEDNESDAY MORNING AS SKIES CLEAR.

WINDY CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH THE DAY...WITH SUSTAINED
SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND 20 KNOTS AND OCCASIONAL GUSTS OF 30 TO 35
KNOTS. THE FUSTINESS SHOULD COME TO AN END WITH SUNSET...AND WEST TO
WEST NORTHWEST WINDS WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN THROUGH THE NIGHT.

&&

.PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IL...NONE.
MO...NONE.
IN...NONE.
KY...NONE.
&&

SHORT TERM...SMITH
LONG TERM....DRS
AVIATION...DRS/SMITH

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 29, 8:01 AM CST, 44 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
801 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-011000-
JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON-
WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION IL-JOHNSON-POPE-
HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH-
WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES-
LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL-
UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN-
MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER-
RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-
801 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST ACROSS THE
AREA...WITH A FORWARD MOVEMENT AROUND 50 MPH. THE PRIMARY HAZARDS
WITH THESE STORMS WILL BE TORNADOES...DAMAGING WINDS AND HAIL. A
SECONDARY CONCERN WILL BE LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH THE
LINE OF STORMS.

THE CURRENT LINE OF STORMS SHOULD EXIT THE QUAD STATE REGION LATER
THIS MORNING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM LATE MORNING
THROUGH SUNSET FRIDAY. THE MAIN HAZARDS WILL BE DAMAGING WIND AND
HAIL...ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS. ISOLATED TORNADO
DEVELOPMENT CANNOT BE RULED OUT IN THE VICINITY OF THE FRONTAL
BOUNDARY DURING THE AFTERNOON. THE AREA OF GREATEST CONCERN WILL BE
WESTERN KENTUCKY...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...SOUTHEAST ILLINOIS AND
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI NEAR THE BOOTHEEL REGION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

IF NOT ALREADY ACTIVATED BY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT...SPOTTER
ACTIVATION IS STILL REQUESTED FOR PARTS OF WEST KENTUCKY THIS
MORNING.

IF YOU CAN SAFELY DO SO...AND CONFIRMED REPORTS OF FUNNEL CLOUDS AND
TORNADOES...AS WELL AS DAMAGING WINDS IS ENCOURAGED. PLEASE REPORT
ANY HAIL SIZE IN COMPARISON TO THE TO THE SIZE OF A COIN OR THE
ACTUAL DIAMETER IN INCHES.

SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE ALSO NEEDED DURING THE LATE MORNING AND
AFTERNOON HOURS ON FRIDAY.

SMITH

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 29, 7:38 AM CST, 1 hour 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
738 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0600 AM     TSTM WND DMG     NEWBURGH                37.95N 87.40W
02/29/2012                   WARRICK            IN   AMATEUR RADIO

            NUMEROUS TREES DOWN ALONG HIGHWAY 66.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Feb 29, 7:45 AM CST, 1 hour before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
745 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0325 AM     TORNADO          PATTON                  37.44N 90.04W
02/29/2012                   BOLLINGER          MO   EMERGENCY MNGR

            6-8 HOMES HAVE ROOF DAMAGE ALONG HIGHWAY 72. 10 LARGER
            BARNS DESTROYED OVER A 5 MILE AREA. TREE DAMAGE IS
            WIDESPREAD. NUMEROUS POWER POLES DOWN.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Feb 29, 7:56 AM CST, 49 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
756 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0605 AM     TORNADO          NEWBURGH                37.95N 87.40W
02/29/2012                   WARRICK            IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            UPDATE REPORT...2 HOMES DESTORYED ON PEACH ST. OTHER
            HOMES DAMAGED ALONG WEST CHESTER DRIVE. PATH OF DAMAGE
            APPEARS TO GO THROUGH DOWNTOWN JUST OF THE LOCK AND DAM.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Feb 29, 8:00 AM CST, 45 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
800 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0600 AM     TSTM WND DMG     2 N HENDERSON           37.87N 87.58W
02/29/2012                   HENDERSON          KY   BROADCAST MEDIA

            *** 2 INJ *** POSSIBLE TORNADO...NEAR ELLIS PARK 3 TO 4
            RIVER HOMES DESTROYED WITH 2 INJURES REPORTED. LATE
            REPORT.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Feb 29, 8:03 AM CST, 42 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
803 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0605 AM     TORNADO          NEWBURGH                37.95N 87.40W
02/29/2012                   WARRICK            IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            UPDATE REPORT...2 HOMES DESTORYED ON PEACHTREE ST. OTHER
            HOMES DAMAGED ALONG WEST CHESTER DRIVE. PATH OF DAMAGE
            APPEARS TO GO THROUGH DOWNTOWN JUST OF THE LOCK AND DAM.

&&

SMITTY

Local storm report, Feb 29, 8:38 AM CST, 7 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
838 AM CST WED FEB 29 2012

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0836 AM     FUNNEL CLOUD     GRACEY                  36.88N 87.63W
02/29/2012                   CHRISTIAN          KY   TRAINED SPOTTER

            REPORTED NORTH OF THE INTERSECTION OF HWYS 68 WEST AND
            3186.

&&

SMITTY

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.

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 12:00Z

2.8 hours before the tornado, 130 km from the path. February 29, 2012.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

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: 580 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -25 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 456 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 510 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 61 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 42 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 365 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 485 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 1.9
Supercell composite: 8.5
0-3 km lapse rate: 5.5 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

Nashville Metro, TN (KBNA), 00:00Z

9.2 hours after it, 130 km from the path. March 1, 2012.

Skew-T log-p

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.

Hodograph

Mixed-layer CAPE: 843 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -1 J/kg
Surface CAPE: 1014 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 623 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 91 kt
0-1 km bulk shear: 33 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 369 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 351 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 2.1
Supercell composite: 7.5
0-3 km lapse rate: 6.2 K/km

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What was reported nearby

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

Time (UTC)	Report	Where	County	Remark
12:40 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Madisonville	Hopkins, KY	SEVERLY DAMAGED HOME BLOCKING ROADWAY.
12:40 UTC	HAIL 0.75	Madisonville	Hopkins, KY	DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN THE COMMUNITY.
12:40 UTC	TORNADO	Madisonville	Hopkins, KY	TORNADO ON THE GROUND REPORTED AT EXIT 44 ALONG THE PENNYRILE PARKWAY.
12:45 UTC	HAIL 1	5 N Hanson	Hopkins, KY	QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED.
12:57 UTC	HAIL 1	Bremen	Muhlenberg, KY	QUARTER SIZE HAIL REPORTED IN THE COMMUNITY.
13:08 UTC	HAIL 1.75	Centertown	Ohio, KY
14:36 UTC	FUNNEL CLOUD	Gracey	Christian, KY	REPORTED NORTH OF THE INTERSECTION OF HWYS 68 WEST AND 3186.
14:45 UTC	TORNADO	Greenville	Muhlenberg, KY	* 1 INJ * A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN FROM GREENVILLE TO CLEATON KY...PATH LENGTH WAS 5.4 MILES. PEAK WINDS WERE 120 MPH...EF2 RATING...AVERAGE PATH WIDTH WAS 180 YARDS. DAMAGE HIGHLIGHTS...A MOBILE HOME WAS COMPLETELY DE
14:49 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Greenville	Muhlenberg, KY	REPORTS OF ROOFS BLOWN OFF HOMES AND 1 SCHOOL.
15:48 UTC	HAIL 1.5	Gracey	Christian, KY
15:51 UTC	TSTM WND GST 70	Gracey	Christian, KY
15:58 UTC	TORNADO	3 Nw Hopkinsville	Christian, KY	UNCONFIRMED REPORT OF A TORNADO ON THE GROUND IN A FIELD BY NORTH SINKING FORK ROAD.
16:05 UTC	TSTM WND GST 70	Hopkinsville	Christian, KY	ALSO...DIME SIZE HAIL REPORTED
16:24 UTC	TSTM WND GST 55	Gracey	Christian, KY
16:28 UTC	HAIL 1	Hopkinsville	Christian, KY
16:30 UTC	TSTM WND DMG	Hopkinsville	Christian, KY	LARGE BARN ON THE GROUND WITH TIN ROLLED UP ON ADJACENT ROOF. APPEARS TO BE STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.
16:34 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Gracey	Christian, KY	SPOTTERS REPORT DITCHES ARE FULL OF WATER AND OVERFLOWING ONTO ROADS
16:40 UTC	HAIL 1.5	6 Ne Hopkinsville	Christian, KY
16:46 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Hopkinsville	Christian, KY	WATER OVER THE ROAD DAWSON SPRINGS ROAD JUST SOUTH OF PLEASANT GREEN ROAD.
17:08 UTC	FLASH FLOOD	Hopkinsville	Christian, KY	HOUSE ON SANDERSON DRIVE IS SURROUNDED BY WATER

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

This ground now

The live radar over the track Every 2012 tornado in Kentucky Every tornado in Kentucky since 1950 Warnings in force in Kentucky now The forecast where you are

The other tornadoes of February 29, 2012

31 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Date	Time	Rating	Where	Path (mi)	Width (yd)	Deaths	Injuries	Damage
February 29	12:18 AM CST	EF1	Laclede, MO	11.0	150		5	$750,000
February 29	12:22 AM CST	EF1	Laclede, MO	0.3	75			$500,000
February 29	12:42 AM CST	EF2	Barry, MO	1.7	400	1	4	$575,000
February 29	1:06 AM CST	EF1	Phelps, MO	18.0	75
February 29	1:13 AM CST	EF2	Stone, MO	24.3	400		47	$21 million
February 29	2:55 AM CST	EF2	Madison, MO	31.9	800		1	$100,000
February 29	3:34 AM CST	EF2	Bollinger, MO	7.7	120			$170,000
February 29	3:47 AM CST	EF2	Cape Girardeau, MO to IL	31.9	300		1	$350,000
February 29	4:00 AM CST	EF3	Stoddard, MO	20.0	700	1		$150,000
February 29	4:24 AM CST	EF1	Scott, MO	15.7	75			$250,000
February 29	4:26 AM CST	EF2	Williamson, IL	14.9	300			$100,000
February 29	4:51 AM CST	EF4	Harrisburg–Ridgway tornado, IL	26.1	325	8	108	$3.0 million
February 29	5:00 AM CST	EF2	Pulaski, IL to KY	22.7	150		5	$250,000
February 29	5:35 AM CST	EF2	Massac, IL	2.4	150			$50,000
February 29	5:57 AM CST	EF1	Henderson, KY	1.3	150		2	$80,000
February 29	6:03 AM CST	EF1	Warrick, IN	2.4	150			$250,000
February 29	6:40 AM CST	EF0	Hopkins, KY	0.5	30			$10,000
February 29	8:45 AM CST	EF2	Muhlenberg, KY	5.5	200		1	$100,000
February 29	9:55 AM EST	EF2	Hardin, KY	5.0	250			$200,000
February 29	9:42 AM CST	EF2	Grayson, KY	2.0	200		1	$50,000
February 29	11:05 AM EST	EF2	Larue, KY	2.5	200			$200,000
February 29	11:12 AM EST	EF2	Larue, KY	0.9	100			$20,000
February 29	1:42 PM EST	EF2	Morgan, KY	6.3	400			$100,000
February 29	12:47 PM CST	EF1	Metcalfe, KY	1.0	150			$10,000
February 29	1:22 PM CST	EF2	Russell, KY	7.2	150			$210,000
February 29	2:53 PM EST	EF1	Pulaski, KY	1.5	60			$50,000
February 29	3:46 PM CST	EF1	DeKalb, TN	14.8	300	1		$700,000
February 29	4:02 PM CST	EF0	White, TN	2.2	50			$10,000
February 29	4:30 PM CST	EF2	Cumberland, TN	11.1	1,000	2	7	$1.0 million
February 29	7:30 PM EST	EF0	Blount, TN	0.8	100			$25,000
February 29	12:32 AM EST	EF0	Washington, VA	0.6	70			$50,000

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.