EF2 tornado in Boyd County, Kentucky

An EF2 tornado with estimated maximum winds of up to 120 miles per hour took a northeasterly track down Long Branch Road. The tornado caused considerable and significant tree damage with several large hardwood trees snapped and uprooted. A home was severely damaged when the roof was blown off, and other homes also suffered at least minor damage. Several barns and outbuildings were destroyed. The tornado then crossed the ridge between Long Branch Road and Jacks Fork Road and turned east, skipping along the ridgetops causing additional tree damage before lifting.

A strong low pressure system and accompanying frontal boundary set forth multiple rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms from April 2nd to the 3rd. This first came in the form of an intense squall line on the morning of the 2nd, which raced through eastern Kentucky and produced straight-line wind damage and brief tornadoes.

The strongest tornado surveyed in the aftermath of storms was found in Boyd County, with structure damage indicative of an EF2 tornado and maximum winds of up to 120 miles per hour. Another tornado was observed near the town of Westwood, where a single-wide trailer was flipped over and significant damage was noted of homes and structures. Numerous areas of tree and power line damage were also seen across northeast Kentucky due to damaging wind gusts associated with the squall line.

In addition to wind and tornado damage, heavy downpours associated with rounds of storms led to flooding across portions of northeast Kentucky on April 3rd. Several roads were closed during this time due to high water issues as adjacent creeks and streams rose out of their banks. In the span of these two days, between 3 to 5 inches of rain had fallen along the Ohio River basin from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, which eventually flowed down the river into Kentucky. The river gauge at Ashland eventually rose above its flood stage on April 6th and returned into its banks the next day as the water continued to flow downstream.