EF3 Tornado — Lawrence, Kentucky

2012-03-02 · near Martha, Lawrence, Kentucky

Event narrative

The long tracked tornado reentered Lawrence County south of Blaine. The track moved near the Left Fork of Little Blaine Creek then across the Levisa Fork around the Chapman vicinity. The tornado exited into Wayne County, West Virginia, just north of Clifford, near the Donithon Branch vicinity.

A double wide mobile home along Spencer Branch was lifted off its cinder block foundation and slammed into the adjacent hillside. Rescue workers extricated 3 people including an elderly couple and a 14 year old girl. The 65 year old grandmother and the 14 year old girl were killed. The 75 year old grandfather was seriously injured but survived. Two other juvenile occupants of the house escaped without injury. A neighbor in another damaged house was also injured with a broken leg. In the Chapman vicinity, a family of 4 took shelter in their bathtub. The house was destroyed, but they survived.

Maximum wind gusts of 140 to 150 mph were estimated near Clifford.

Damage assessment in the county included 30 homes destroyed. Another 9 homes had major damage. Over 200 people were approved for individual assistance or housing assistance from FEMA. Over $300,000 was used on debris cleanup and road repairs. The Blaine community building was also damaged.

Wider weather episode

A deepening low pressure system was lifting northeast out of central Illinois around midday on Friday, the 2nd. It reached southern Michigan by evening. By late afternoon its associated warm front had pulled north into central Ohio and into central West Virginia near Charleston. This left eastern Kentucky in the warm sector. Surface dew points increased into the upper 50s in eastern Kentucky and into the lower 60s across southern Kentucky during the late afternoon, ahead of the approaching cold front.

Severe thunderstorms, including distinct supercells, moved into eastern Kentucky just before sunset. One of those supercells produced an unusually long lived tornado that moved across Lawrence County. This was the same storm that had hit West Liberty earlier. This tornado briefly crossed into Johnson County before reentering Lawrence County. The tornado killed 2 people along Spencer Branch near Norris and the Left Fork of Little Blaine Creek. After hitting the Chapman and Gallup vicinity, the tornado crossed the Tug Fork River into Wayne County, West Virginia near Glenhayes.

Another tornado with a long track, stayed south of Lawrence County, affecting Johnson and Martin Counties before ending just across the West Virginia border in Mingo County. This was the same tornado that had hit the Salyersville vicinity earlier.

Large hail also was a major contributor to the damage totals in Lawrence County. One used car lot near Louisa had several vehicles damaged.

This event was just 2 days after another warm front, followed by a cold front, had triggered severe weather in northeast Kentucky.

This was the first recorded tornado within Lawrence County. President Barack Obama included Lawrence County in the federal disaster in Kentucky. Over 20 other Kentucky counties were also affected. See FEMA disaster number 4057 for more details.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.9921, -82.9198)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 366020. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.