EF0 tornado in Cumberland County, Kentucky

Tornado July 9, 2024 · Cumberland County, Kentucky

EF0

Rating

0.9 mi

Whole path

200 yd

Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Cumberland County → Metcalfe County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 200 yards (0.11 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF0 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF0 is light damage: shingles and siding peeled, gutters torn, branches broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 65–85 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

A National Weather Service storm survey team determined that a brief EF0 tornado

touched down on the afternoon of July 9. The tornado touched down

about a half mile north-northwest of the Highway 90 and Ferris Fork Road

intersection where two large trees were downed, facing back

to the southeast. Just downstream of that, a residence was hit and this

is where the tornado quickly reached its widest point and

strongest winds. Here, several hardwood and softwood trees had

large limbs broken or were uprooted. Ground and aerial survey

with a drone both confirmed that trees were laying in multiple

directions, including in opposite directions of storm motion.

There was very little structural damage, an indication that the

tornado was struggling to keep in contact with the ground, and

likely a contributing factor to the relative weakness of the

tornado. Peak winds here were 80 to 85 MPH.

The tornadic circulation continued in a generally northerly direction for

the next three quarters of a mile, hugging the west side of Cedar

Ridge, and just to the east of Ferris Fork Road. At this point, the tornado crossed into extreme southeastern Metcalfe County, where it remained on the ground for about one-half mile before lifting.

The wider storm

The remnants of Hurricane Beryl moved through the Ohio Valley on July 9th. While most of the showers and thunderstorms associated with the remnants of Beryl did not produce severe weather across central Kentucky, one cell in Cumberland and Metcalfe County produced a brief EF0 tornado, as well as some hail. Multiple reports of funnel clouds were also noted during the afternoon and evening hours on July 9th.

Began near Dubre (36.8524, -85.5450).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 1206824. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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