EF4 Crittenden tornado, Kentucky, March 2, 2012

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 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. 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 mphthis tornado

   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.

Rating

EF4

Date

March 2, 2012

Touchdown

4:23 PM EST (21:23 UTC)

Lifted

4:32 PM EST (21:32 UTC)

On the ground

9 minutes

Path length

9.8 miles (15.8 km)

Path width

880 yards (805 m)

Deaths

4

Injuries

8

Property damage

$21 million

Counties

Grant and Kenton counties

Touchdown point

38.791, -84.633

Lift-off point

38.821, -84.454

Record number

1203021523-01

Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon in a high wind shear environment ahead of a strengthening low pressure system. Many of these storms became severe, with large hail, damaging thunderstorm winds, and tornadoes all being the main threats. Isolated flooding also became possible due to the intense rainfall.

The tornado touched down in Grant County at 1623 EST, causing low to mid EF3 damage specifically in the Harvesters Subdivision. This damage occurred at the west end of Barley Circle. Most of the damage in the rest of the subdivision was EF1 to EF2. Based on the damage surveyed, the maximum wind speed of this tornado while in Grant County was estimated at 145 miles per hour. After traveling 1.33 miles on the ground in Grant County, the tornado then crossed into Kenton County at 1624 EST. Immediately as the tornado crossed west to east of Interstate 75, it strengthened to EF4 level. Five single family homes were destroyed down to their foundations in this area, with at least two of these homes having strapping or bolting to their foundations. The EF4 damage continued to the north end of Lexington Pike, where 2 homes and multiple outbuildings were completely destroyed. Both homes were brick structures with foundation bolting or strapping. The EF4 winds continued across Route 25 and ended near the Bagby Road area. At least 2 vehicles were carried, with one carried over 1800 feet. Trees were stripped of nearly all branches, with much of the bark also stripped. All 4 fatalities with this tornado occurred within the area of EF4 damage. As the tornado headed further to the east northeast, high end EF3 damage continued through other properties along Bagby Road, to Carlisle, Parker Grove, and Paxton Roads. Numerous double and single wide homes were destroyed, with both brick and siding structures left with collapsed exterior walls and either all or a large percentage of the roof removed. The tornado continued the east northeast path into southeast Kenton County, to the Licking River near Morning View. Damage in the Morning View area was consistent with EF1 to EF2 damage to near the Campbell County line, where the tornado lifted at 1632 EST after traveling 8.52 miles in Kenton County. Based on the damage surveyed, the maximum wind speed from this tornado while in Kenton County was estimated at 175 miles per hour. This storm produced an earlier tornado in southern Indiana. Debris, possibly from that tornado, was later observed falling from the sky across Boone County, Kentucky.

The tornado touched down in Grant County at 1623 EST, causing low to mid EF3 damage specifically in the Harvesters Subdivision. This damage occurred at the west end of Barley Circle. Most of the damage in the rest of the subdivision was EF1 to EF2. Based on the damage surveyed, the maximum wind speed of this tornado while in Grant County was estimated at 145 miles per hour. After traveling 1.33 miles on the ground in Grant County, the tornado then crossed into Kenton County at 1624 EST. Immediately as the tornado crossed west to east of Interstate 75, it strengthened to EF4 level. Five single family homes were destroyed down to their foundations in this area, with at least two of these homes having strapping or bolting to their foundations. The EF4 damage continued to the north end of Lexington Pike, where 2 homes and multiple outbuildings were completely destroyed. Both homes were brick structures with foundation bolting or strapping. The EF4 winds continued across Route 25 and ended near the Bagby Road area. At least 2 vehicles were carried, with one carried over 1800 feet. Trees were stripped of nearly all branches, with much of the bark also stripped. All 4 fatalities with this tornado occurred within the area of EF4 damage. As the tornado headed further to the east northeast, high end EF3 damage continued through other properties along Bagby Road, to Carlisle, Parker Grove, and Paxton Roads. Numerous double and single wide homes were destroyed, with both brick and siding structures left with collapsed exterior walls and either all or a large percentage of the roof removed. The tornado continued the east northeast path into southeast Kenton County, to the Licking River near Morning View. Damage in the Morning View area was consistent with EF1 to EF2 damage to near the Campbell County line, where the tornado lifted at 1632 EST after traveling 8.52 miles in Kenton County. Based on the damage surveyed, the maximum wind speed from this tornado while in Kenton County was estimated at 175 miles per hour. This storm produced an earlier tornado in southern Indiana. Debris, possibly from that tornado, was later observed falling from the sky across Boone County, Kentucky.

The deaths

4 direct deaths are recorded for this tornado, each with what Storm Data knows of it.

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

33 minutes of warning. NWS ILN issued a tornado warning for this county at 20:50 UTC, 33 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 21:30 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 18:05 UTC and running to 23:01 UTC.

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 Storm Prediction Center had this point in a High Risk, with a 0.30 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 19:56 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 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.

The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 92 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:23 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.

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

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

The live radar over the trackEvery 2012 tornado in KentuckyEvery tornado in Kentucky since 1950Warnings in force in Kentucky nowThe forecast where you are

69 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

All 70 of them

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.

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