EF2 tornado, Cave Hill to Sunnyside, 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 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.

Rating

EF2

Date

December 11, 2021

Touchdown

1:19 AM CST (07:19 UTC)

Lifted

1:24 AM CST (07:24 UTC)

On the ground

5 minutes

Path length

6.1 miles (9.8 km)

Path width

300 yards (274 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

County

Warren County

Touchdown point

36.956, -86.423

Lift-off point

37.007, -86.340

Record number

2112110119-01

235 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LMK, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF3. The highest wind the damage implies is 165 mph.

• Insulation and dirt on cars facing south
• Semi truck pushed over and slid into building, building destruction.
• Security checkpoint building destroyed, metal railings and fencing destroyed.
• Light pole and sign collapsed in parking lot of Corvette plant.

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.

This tornado formed approximately 1 mile southwest of Crossroads near Watlington Road and tracked northeast for approximately 22 miles before exiting Logan County and into western Warren County. The tornado traveled just over 6 miles into Warren County before dissipating near Hicks Lane, just west of Morgantown Road. In it's path the tornado damaged trees and leveled some small outbuildings.

The National Weather Service in Louisville surveyed a tornadic supercell over the course of 6 days in Warren County which directly struck Bowling Green. The tornado first touched down in rural southwestern Warren County just south of the intersection of Wimpee Smith Road and Petros Browning Rd. It tracked to the northeast for approximately 26 miles before entering Edmonson County. The tornado continued approximately 3.6 miles into Edmonson before dissipating at 0138 CST. At the tornado's beginning in Warren County, the tornado twisted, snapped, topped and uprooted softwood and hardwood trees. The tornado was about 200 yards wide, with EF1 winds of 90 mph. Aerial photography confirmed the tornado was continuous in this rugged area of southwest Warren County. The tornado increased to EF2, between 120 and 125 mph, doing major damage to several older barns along Tommy Smith Road. It threw a 1700 pound cattle trailer, 300 yards into a creek ravine.The NWS drone showed a distinct narrow main funnel within the larger funnel. This 30 to 35 yard funnel was clearly seen scouring the corn field and produced the most concentrated damage. The narrow funnel crossed Browning Rd and hit a well constructed house. The only major part of the house that survived was an interior bathroom and hallway. Winds were estimated at 135 mph, and areas outside the narrow funnel had damage of 100 mph, and the entire overall width was 250 yards wide. The survey team found extensive tree damage along Van Meter Rd and Fuqua Rd and aerial photography confirmed the tornado was continuous in this rugged, mainly forested area. The tornado did minor roof damage to some homes along Blue Level Road with winds of 86 to 90 mph but did more substantial roof and side damage to several barns with winds of 90 to 95 mph. Based on drone technology, there appeared to be two distinct areas of damage, and likely had a smaller satellite tornado. There was extensive roof damage to the Zomi Agape fellowship center with insulation thrown both downwind and on the upwind side of the building. The tornado increased in speed when it was over Old Tramm Rd by Rembrandt Court and Powell Road. One house on Rembrandt Court was knocked off its foundation by the garage attachment and slid about 15 feet. Other homes were knocked down to just interior bathrooms and hallways remaining, but there were some foundation construction concerns. EF2 winds of 130 to 135 mph were evidenced in this area. Several houses were knocked down to the foundation, but there were foundation construction concerns. In addition, farm equipment from a barn on the right side of Powell St was thrown directly into homes on the left side of Powell Rd. The survey team found significant house damage to dozens of homes in the Creekwood subdivision. This included exterior collapsed walls, roofs blown off, foundations severely compromised, garages blown in, insulation blown on all four sides of houses, and garages severely damaged or destroyed. In fact, they were dozens of double garages damaged, where one garage door blew in and the other garage door blew out. There were hundreds of powerlines and snapped power poles down throughout the county. Trees were uprooted snapped and twisted facing in all directions. Dozens of cars were flipped, twisted, turned, and thrown into homes. 2 x 4s were thrown into the ground, like missiles. Several splintered boards were impaled into vehicle windshields, tires, and along the hood grills. Most of the damage was rated EF2 from 115 to 135 mph except for 8 homes near Mossy Creek. The survey team brought in engineers from WKU to look at 8 homes, which were wiped down to the foundation from Moss Creek to Mossy Stone. Engineers helped in determining winds speeds were 160 mph for these houses, a high EF3 rating. Tragically, several fatalities occurred in the subdivision area. The tornado was 250 yards wide in Creekwood, but increased to about 350 yards wide before crossing Veterans Parkway. The tornado crossed the William Natcher Parkway and hit large townhouses along Veterans Parkway. There were numerous windows shattered and some roof damage. One of the town houses was shifted off the foundation, but there were no bricks or other support on it. The tornado crossed Russellville Rd hitting many businesses. At Royal Motor Cars, several storage buildings were destroyed, major loss of roof panels at Cabreras Mexican restaurant and an auto parts store. At Plumbers Supply company at 2321 Russellville Rd. The garage was blown in and collapsed. The main building had a shifted foundation, and a partial collapse of some exterior cinderblock walls, tractors and trailers were twisted and flipped, and there was numerous power poles snapped. The Shell gas station had major damage to service station canopy and store, as well as walls of an Enterprise car rental. The tornado increased to quarter mile wide and went from EF2 of 130 mph, from Royal Motorcars to AutoZone, and then decreased to EF2, 115-120 mph and narrowed to 1/8th of a mile with major tree and roof damage along Lealand Street, Cedar Ridge, and University Drive. A fully loaded dumpster was thrown 250 yards. At Russell Road and Springhill Avenue, a Marathon gas station had its pumps destroyed, and most of the exterior walls were destroyed. The tornado missed Western Kentucky University by 225 yards, but debris was thrown all over the campus including some impaled debris into buildings. The tornado went along 31W including doing significant damage to roof at Bobas lounge, a liquor store, and a smoke shop. This was estimated to be 110 to 120 mph winds, and tornado width decreased to 250 yards by Walgreens and Taco Bell. The tornado, appeared to be slightly elevated, doing mainly tree damage, power poles, and house roofing and siding along Magnolia Ave and Nutwood St. It crossed Lehman, went along Covington, with wind speeds mainly of 95 to 110 mph. The owner of 708 Nutwood said, your warning saved our lives, as our house was violently shaking, but we sought shelter and lived. Much of the tree damage was facing from the northeast to the northwest. The tornado paralleled Cemetery Rd doing roof and gutter damage along with power lines and tree damage. The tornadoes speed and winds increased along Cherokee Dr. with roofs removed and large healthy hardwood trees uprooted. The width increased to 300 yards and speeds to 105 mph with width of 225 yards. The narrow 175 yard funnel, hit the Indian Hills golf course, twisting, snapping, and topping numerous pines and cedars with winds speeds of 86 to 90 mph. The tornado then crossed the Barren River and increased in speed along Old Porter Pike to EF2, between 111 and 120 mph. Huge diameter hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted, including several very tall oak trees. There was also extensive roof damage to some well built homes. It weakened as it approached exit 28, doing EF1 damage of 90-95 mph to Hucks gas station and damaged a very tall Wendys sign. On the north side of 31 W, a fully loaded 18 wheeler facing west, was knocked over and was dragged 15 yards to a northwesterly directly. Winds were increased to EF2, of 115 mph. At the Corvette plant there was significant roof damage, with metal sheeting, insulation, HVAC units, and other debris thrown hundreds of yards downwind. Light poles in the parking lot were snapped, One of the security checkpoints at the Corvette plant was totally destroyed with large sections of the building being thrown several hundred yards, and weighing over 100 pounds, striking several vehicles. Winds were mainly in the 110 to 120 mph range. The tornado continued to parallel I 65, just west of the interstate. It struck several homes at Bristow Rd and Friendship Rd. Most of the damage was done to roofs siding and gutters and destroyed a well- built greenhouse. Numerous power poles and lines were down and the debris pattern was facing from southeasterly, all the way to northwesterly. There was some barn and tree damage near Kelly Road and the CSX railroad crossing. Winds were 85 to 90 mph and width of 200 yards. The tornado really increased across the TransPark at Exit 30. A few metal building structures at the peak intensity of the tornado sustained heavy damage. The middle building totally collapsed. Analysis showed that building was well constructed, but the shearing force from the intense tornado ripped the metal frame from the anchoring plates of the building. Analysis of the third building showed the tornado had weakened some at this point, down to EF2 levels. The WSR-8D radar showed a Tornadic Debris Signature downstream of this area, which was lofted to around 18 kft, right at the high end of EF3 of 165 mph. The tornado weakened further downstream as it caused roofing and siding damage to several structures and tree damage into southeast Edmonson County. Civil Air Patrol imagery helped identify the end point of this tornado.

After an in-depth radar analysis and on-the-ground surveying, the survey team found a separate tornado which first touched down as a thin skipping tornado just before the Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport. It damaged a storage building, and then became more ground based on the east side of the airport, damaging the roof of a well built hangar. The Bowling Green ASOS measured a 63 mph wind gust about a quarter mile away from the 100 yard wide tornado of 100 mph. The tornado increased in size to about 200 yards hitting the Hub apartments and townhouses. There was extensive damage to windows, as well as roofing. The garage units had the most structural roofing and side wall damage. Winds increased to 110 mph. ||The tornado became more elevated hitting several trees, power lines, and there was some apartment roofing damage near the Barren River. The tornado crossed Interstate 65 near the 27 mile marker and was about 200 yards wide. ||There was extensive tree damage and one barn was destroyed east of the interstate between Cumberland Trace Road and Porter Pike. Winds were between 90 and 100 mph, and then the tornado increased to EF2 120 mph striking the Corvette track and Motorsports Park. There was extensive damage to the main building and a series of garage and storage buildings had extensive structural damage to the individual roofs. Debris was thrown over half a mile to the east northeast. The tornado was 225 yards wide, and the survey team could see the main tornado damage about a half a mile away towards the Corvette plant on the other side of the interstate. NWS used drone technology to analyze the roofing structures for wind speed determinations. ||The tornado weakened and paralleled Interstate 65 along McGinnis Road and Bristow Road. Most of the damage was tree damage. Trees were snapped, twisted, and uprooted facing from the northwest to the southeast direction. There was also some siding, gutter, and roofing damage. The tornado was between 100 and 150 yards wide and the wind speeds were around 90 to 95 mph before it lifted at the 29.2 mile marker.

The deaths

16 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.

21 minutes of warning. NWS LMK issued a tornado warning for this county at 06:58 UTC, 21 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 07:45 UTC.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 00:22 UTC and running to 07:29 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.

Bowling Green (BWG), 4 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

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

The Nashville radar (KOHX), 83 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 07:16 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.