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EF1 tornado in Union County, Kentucky

Tornado March 28, 2009 · Union County, Kentucky

EF1

Rating

2.1 mi

Path length

75 yd

Path width

$60K

Damage as recorded

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 75 yards (0.04 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 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

This was the first tornado spawned by a supercell storm that originated over Crittenden County. This was a relatively weak and short-lived tornado compared to the second. Two camper trailers were overturned, one 30-by-30 foot farm shed was destroyed, and several trees were down. Peak winds were estimated near 90 mph.

The wider storm

A strong low pressure center moved northeast from Oklahoma into south central Missouri by late afternoon, with a warm front extending east from the low across western Kentucky. The warm front served as a focusing mechanism for some of the ingredients needed for tornadogenesis.

Began near Yuba (37.5783, -87.8556).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

2 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF3 Union County EF0 Daviess County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 158365. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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