EF1 tornado, Bell City to Murray, Kentucky, February 24, 2018

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 mphthis tornado

   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 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.

Rating

EF1

Date

February 24, 2018

Touchdown

7:37 PM CST (01:37 UTC)

Lifted

7:46 PM CST (01:46 UTC)

On the ground

9 minutes

Path length

8.3 miles (13.3 km)

Path width

125 yards (114 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$450,000

Counties

Calloway and Graves counties

Touchdown point

36.516, -88.522

Lift-off point

36.574, -88.391

Record number

1802241937-01

44 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS PAH, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF1. The highest wind the damage implies is 105 mph.

• Corner of house impacted by roof projecticle from Hwy 641 business.
• Several trees or large tree limbs blown down. 2 barns or sheds damaged. House damage due to a fallen tree. Some loss of shingles.
• Recently built heavy Amish construction barn strewn up to a few hundred yards from its origin.
• irrigation equipment blown over

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

An outbreak of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes occurred across western Kentucky. Most of the severe weather was along and south of a Paducah to Madisonville line. North of that line, serious flash flooding resulted in a fatality. A surface low pressure center tracked rapidly north-northeast from Arkansas to the upper Mississippi Valley, dragging a warm front north across western Kentucky. Instability was adequate for tornadoes and severe storms in the presence of very strong wind shear. A very moist air mass resulted in heavy rainfall, which produced localized flash flooding due to the water-logged ground. Locally 5 to 6 inches of rain had fallen over the previous week. Rainfall rates in these thunderstorms were locally one-half to one inch per hour.

This EF-1 tornado touched down about 1 mile southwest of Bell City and moved northeast across Highway 97 into Calloway County. The majority of the path and associated damage occurred in Calloway County. In the Graves County portion, a few barns were damaged or destroyed. A house sustained minor damage. Many dozens of trees, some very large, were snapped or uprooted. At least one eyewitness observed the tornado. A convergent damage pattern consisting of dozens of very large uprooted trees was visible from Kentucky Highway 97. Peak winds were estimated near 100 mph. The tornado path continued into Calloway County.

This EF-1 tornado moved from Graves County into Calloway County near State Route 97. The tornado tracked across mainly rural farm country before lifting a few miles southwest of Murray. Most of the path and associated damage was in Calloway County. More than a half dozen barns were damaged or destroyed. A newly built, well-constructed barn was completely destroyed, and debris was strewn hundreds of yards. Two empty grain bins were blown over. Several homes were damaged, mainly due to fallen trees and blowing debris. Two semi trailers were overturned. Two mobile homes were blown from their foundations. Many dozens of trees, some very large, were snapped or uprooted. At least one eyewitness observed the tornado. Peak winds were estimated near 100 mph.

This brief EF-1 tornado occurred in a very rural area of east central Graves County near the community of Golo. Near the touchdown location, some shingles were blown off a roof, and a few trees were uprooted or snapped. The tornado continued northeast and damaged trees along the path. The roof of a residence was uplifted briefly, and a window was blown in. Behind the residence, a mobile home with a wood base was lifted and rolled about 30 yards down a hill and was still intact. A small outbuilding was also destroyed on the property. Several large trees were uprooted or snapped on the property. The tornado track length was about one mile. Peak winds were estimated near 100 mph.

This EF-1 tornado crossed the southern part of the city of Murray, damaging about 40 homes. The tornado touched down several blocks west of Highway 641 and lifted on the east edge of the city at the Clarks River floodplain. Most of the damage consisted of roof damage, mainly shingle loss. Two homes were a total loss, with roof decking removed, windows blown out, and part of an exterior wall caved in due to projectile impacts. At least four businesses were damaged, with the majority of the roof removed from one. Dozens of trees were uprooted or broken. The mayor of Murray declared a state of emergency. Peak winds were estimated near 105 mph.

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

2 minutes of warning. NWS PAH issued a tornado warning for this county at 01:35 UTC, 2 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 01:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 21:16 UTC and running to 02:25 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 Enhanced Risk, with a 0.10 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 00:42 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 Paducah radar (KPAH), 65 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 01:34 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 2018 tornado in KentuckyEvery tornado in Kentucky since 1950Warnings in force in Kentucky nowThe forecast where you are

29 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

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.