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EF2 tornado in Owen County, Kentucky

Tornado March 2, 2012 · Owen County, Kentucky

EF2
Rating
5.4 mi
Path length
150 yd
Path width
3
Injuries
$320K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 150 yards (0.09 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What EF2 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF2 is considerable damage: roofs torn off well-built houses, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, consistent with estimated gusts of 111–135 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

The tornado touched down north of Owenton initially near a farm south of Highway 227, where minor damage to a barn and house were observed. The tornado continued east to near the intersection of Todd Road and Highways 127, 36, and 227 where the EF2 damage occurred. This damage included a house that had complete removal of the roof and partial exterior wall collapse. Numerous barns in the area were also completely destroyed. Power poles and trees were snapped, as well as a semi trailer overturned. The tornado then continued east across Kemper Lane where more barns were destroyed and numerous groves of trees were uprooted and snapped. The tornado lifted just east of Jonesville Road. This location is approximate due to inaccessible terrain. Damage in the area of Jonesville Road consisted of minor damage to outbuildings, tree damage, and minor removal of roofing material. Based on the damage survey, the maximum wind speed of this tornado was estimated to be 125 miles per hour.

The wider storm

Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon in a high wind shear environment ahead of a strengthening low pressure system. Many of these storms became severe, with large hail, damaging thunderstorm winds, and tornadoes all being the main threats. Isolated flooding also became possible due to the intense rainfall.

Began near New Liberty (38.6000, -84.8900).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 369180. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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