EF1 tornado in Warren County, Kentucky

This tornado is a continuation of the track which started in Muhlenberg County and continued across Butler County. In total, this EF1 tornado was on the ground for over 40 miles and 50 minutes across three counties. To see information about the tornado as it passed through Muhlenberg County, please see the associated Storm Data entry from the National Weather Service Paducah office.

The tornado entered Warren County just south of U.S. Route 231, and quickly crossed Highway 231 and Interstate 165 after entering the county. Just east of that location, intensity again increased along a

ridge at Highland Church Road and Sallys Rock near Rockland.

Intense tree damage occurred with winds estimated at 100 to 105

mph. The tornado continued east-southeast through northern Warren County,

crossing the Barren River several times and continuing to damage

numerous trees. Weaker EF0 damage was noted along these points,

with fairly sporadic, yet still tornadic damage signatures. Roads

that were crossed included Halls Chapel, Jenkins, and Goud Lake

Road.

After the tornado crossed Kentucky Route 185, it entered a subdivision off

Mount Olivet Road. Here, a home suffered high end EF1 damage as

the roofing structure was completely removed and spread downwind.

Some of the damage impacted another house downstream, severely

damaging the side wall of the home. The main home damage alone

looked to be EF2 strength at first glance, however it was

determined that the wind was easily able to get up under the

roofing structure on the northwest side of the house and this resulted in a total loss of the second story.

Given that there were no other instances of damage even close to

that strength around, it was decided to keep the rating at EF1 with estimated winds of

110 mph. Other homes were damaged by debris from upstream

outbuildings, as well as some tree damage. Insulation spattering

was noted on the back side of structures and vehicles, also

indicating cyclonic rotation. An eyewitness also had a photo of

what appeared to be a funnel. The tornado continued on Mount

Olivet Road to the east-southeast for another couple of miles before lifting at EF0 strength near Girkin.

A strong storm system moved across the Ohio and Tennessee valleys on May 26th and into the early morning hours of May 27th, 2024. Two waves of strong to severe thunderstorms moved across central Kentucky, producing numerous occurrences of straight-line wind damage and 8 tornadoes while crossing the region. The first wave of storms moved across central Kentucky as a large bowing quasi-linear convective system during the late morning and early afternoon hours. This line of storms produced widespread straight-line wind damage, with particularly heavy damage observed across the Louisville metro and northern Woodford County. Two quick spin up tornadoes in Clinton County were also associated with this line.

After a second sub-severe line of storms moved across the area during the early afternoon hours, conditions were relatively quiet until the mid-to-late afternoon, when strong and severe cells began to develop across western Kentucky and southern Illinois. The storms would initially be discrete before growing into another large line of storms which produced the heaviest damage south of Interstate 64. Six tornadoes would be associated with this second line, with a long track EF1 tornado extending for over 40 miles across Muhlenberg, Butler, and Warren County. Heavy straight-line wind damage was also observed with this second line of storms, especially in Barren, Mercer, and Garrard County. The line of storms finally pushed east of the area shortly after midnight on May 27th, bringing an end to an active 16 hours across central Kentucky.