EF1 tornado, Shelby City to Clifton, Kentucky, December 11, 2021

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

December 11, 2021

Touchdown

4:02 AM EST (09:02 UTC)

Lifted

4:05 AM EST (09:05 UTC)

On the ground

3 minutes

Path length

3.6 miles (5.8 km)

Path width

400 yards (366 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Boyle County

Touchdown point

37.646, -84.791

Lift-off point

37.675, -84.738

Record number

2112110302-01

82 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LMK, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 135 mph.

• 1/2 of large outbuilding destroyed and blown away debris extending 1 mile to the north east
• Carport blown one home north north east
• Home/barn combo - roof blown off
• Hit by debris from barn to nw

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

Strong southern winds brought warm temperatures and plenty of moisture into an environment of strong wind shear ahead of an advancing cold front. This resulted in unusually warm temperatures for a December day and the ingredients to produce a historic tornado outbreak and flash flooding. This included multiple long track tornadoes. Central Kentucky saw 18 tornadoes that injured 96 and killed 18. An additional death occurred in a flash flood.

The tornado began near Danville-Boyle County Airport along Simpson Lane in Junction City. Roof damage occurred in this neighborhood, and then the tornado continued toward the airport. Three hangar buildings were destroyed and several aircraft were mangled and heavily damaged. The tornado then crossed Airport Road to the northeast where a home had the roof completely destroyed and a nearby barn was severely damaged. After this point northeast of the airport the tornado did not produce noticeable damage in nearby farm fields.

The tornado began near Morning Pointe of Danville along Perryville Road just south of Millennium Park, where significant roof damage occurred to a church and a gas station. Several trees were also uprooted and snapped at this location. The tornado continued through neighborhoods along West Lexington Avenue where tree and roof damage occurred. The tornado continued to produce tree and roof damage to homes between Caldwell Manor and Bellvue Cemetery before crossing Highway 2168. The tornado continued near Waterworks Road with destruction of a barn and roof damage to a residence nearby,. No damage was observed beyond Waterworks Road.

This tornado formed approximately 2.9 miles east northeast of Danville Goodall Airport near Chrisman Lane and tracked northeast for approximately 5.2 miles before crossing into western Garrard County. The tornado continued approximately 1.9 miles into Garrard County before dissipating at 0411 EST. In Boyle County, The tornado began on the northeast side of Highway 150 near the Boyle/Lincoln County line where a barn outbuilding had severe roof damage. The tornado continued to the northeast along Chrisman Lane where barns had roof uplift damage. After the tornado moved past Cooks Loop, damage continued on the other side of Chrisman Lane where a barn received roof damage. There was extensive tree damage, with trees being uprooted or snapped along Chrisman Lane near Chrisman Circle. The tornado then continued along mostly rural portions near the Boyle and Lincoln County Lines. To the east northeast of Hedgeville, several barns and homes in this area had major roof damage along Lancaster Road. The tornado continued with tree damage along Rankin Road before crossing into Garrard County.

This tornado formed approximately 2 miles north of Clifton near Kings Ridge Road and tracked northeast for approximately 0.9 miles before crossing into northern Garrard County. The tornado continued approximately 2.1 miles into Garrard County before dissipating at 0411 EST. In Boyle County, The tornado began near the Old Bridge Golf Club where trees were uprooted and branches were broken. Then, the tornado crossed Herrington Lake into Garrard County.

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

3 minutes of warning. NWS LMK issued a tornado warning for this county at 08:59 UTC, 3 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 09:23 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 07:29 UTC and running to 11:40 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 Slight Risk, with a 0.05 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 05:48 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 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.

Danville (DVK), 9 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 08:59 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 2021 tornado in KentuckyEvery tornado in Kentucky since 1950Warnings in force in Kentucky nowThe forecast where you are

37 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.