EF0 Tornado — Franklin, Kentucky

2025-05-03 · near Peaks Mill, Franklin, Kentucky

Event narrative

An NWS Survey confirmed a non-supercell EF0 tornado, with maximum

winds of 80 mph and a path length of approximately 1 mile, occurred near Peaks Mill

on the morning of Saturday, May 3rd. The tornado was on the

ground for about 4 minutes and had a peak width of approximately 30

yards.

Damage was first observed near John Branch creek near Sullivan

Lane, and the tornado continued across John Branch creek and

followed Sullivan Lane to the northeast. Some large tree branch

damage occurred and some roofing and siding damage to barns and

nearby residences. The tornado continued across Elkhorn creek and

continued to produce damage to barn roofing and trees. The

tornado did some minor damage to a barn across Peaks Mill Road

before lifting. Tree branch damage and uproot damage from drone

footage showed a clear convergence signature along Sullivan Lane.

Wider weather episode

A cold front moved into the mid-Mississippi Valley during the morning of May 2nd, with a line of showers and thunderstorms developing ahead of the front. Within the warm, humid air mass ahead of the front, temperatures warmed into the upper 70s by the early afternoon hours, allowing for 1500-2000 J/kg of MLCAPE to develop. Wind shear was fairly modest for the time of year, with between 25 and 30 kt of effective bulk shear present. As the line of storms moved across central Kentucky, a couple bowing segments developed, producing scattered wind damage along the Ohio River. An isolated stronger cell across south central Kentucky produced severe hail up to golf ball size, in addition to gusty winds.

The following morning on May 3rd, the cold front was still slowly pushing east across the area. While mostly light to moderate rain showers were present, one stronger cell was able to produce a brief EF0 tornado over Franklin County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.2889, -84.8248)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1268973. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.