EF1 Tornado — Knox, Kentucky

2024-05-26 · near Siler, Knox, Kentucky

Event narrative

The National Weather Service surveyed damage in the Siler

community, on the eastern edge of Corbin. They confirmed, with the

help of video, that a quick spin-up tornado occurred, starting in

the NW corner of the Legacy Chevrolet dealership's parking lot,

affecting a gas station and car wash, then moving ENE across

US-25E, into a manufactured shed retail lot. It then crossed into

a tree line and adjacent field, possibly lifting momentarily,

before resuming damage near Poplar Grove Road. It then traveled

between Lynn Camp High School and Lynn Camp Elementary School,

before dissipating. Notable damage included damage to to vehicles

in the Legacy Chevrolet parking lot. Multiple cars and trucks

were pushed forward or to the side. The line of trucks near the

front of the lot were pushed up over the curb and halfway into the

grass. Debris was located along the seal of the driver-side

window of multiple trucks, and quite a few vehicles lost their

back windshields either partially or completely. The gas cap

covers were pulled off of the trucks, with some found at the end of the

tornado path about 0.75 miles away. The neighboring car wash lost

the majority of its windows and incurred damage to all sides of

the building, causing it to be structurally unsound. Across the

street, sheds and barns were moved around and flipped, including a

metal carport being thrown into the tree line to the ENE. No damage

was noted along the neighboring field, however minor roof damage

and a fallen tree occurred just to the ENE, at which point the

path of damage picked back up with multiple trees down along

Poplar Grove Road. At the end of the tornado track, a south-facing

house addition had its roof and ceiling lifted off, landing in

it's entirety to the north near the Lynn Camp Elementary School,

while additional debris was thrown into the east facing lawn of

the school.

The track of this storm started at Cumberland Falls State Park,

moving east-northeast, resulting in a path of straight-line wind

damage across northern Whitley County with numerous trees felled.

NWS Jackson, KY radar showed a tightening of circulation occurring

across the Corbin area, near where the tornado occurred. Further

wind damage was noted farther ENE of the tornado path in a wooded

area along Middlefork Richland Road and surrounding areas. These

were all indicative of straight-line winds as well.

Wider weather episode

On the morning of May 26, a stationary front had set up along the Ohio River just north of the state. During the course of the day, this front slowly lifted northward as a warm front, as a low pressure system began to develop and take shape just west of the state. This added forcing, combined with Kentucky's location in a warm/moist airmass, was enough to spark widespread showers and thunderstorms. WPC noted an outflow boundary on several surface analysis, the presence of which contributed to more shower and thunderstorm development. Most of the storms took place during the afternoon hours on the 26th, however, some storms and damage occurred as early as 3am EDT and as late as 2 and 3am EDT the following night. Amongst the many reports of thunderstorm wind damage, there was also a quick and small rotation that developed in the community of Corbin, which led to a EF-1 tornado, affecting a car dealership and several other businesses/homes.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.9466, -84.0499)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1181279. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.