EF1 tornado in Taylor County, Kentucky

A storm survey confirmed a tornado that damaged the northern portion of Campbellsville. It touched down just west of the intersection of US 68 and Ky 323, where it destroyed several outbuildings. After crossing KY 210, it uprooted trees and damaged several buildings near the intersection of Hodgenville Road and Vintage Lane. Damage rated as EF-1 was surveyed as the tornado crossed Saloma Road and moved roughly parallel to and just north of Upper Miller Park Road. Several trees were toppled and several rooftops were damaged. After crossing the intersection of Eastern Drive and East Lake Drive, it brought additional roof and tree damage to locations near the intersection of US 68 and Palestine Road. At this point, the tornado lifted.

A deep trough embedded within the southern stream of the jet combined with unseasonably rich moisture to bring widespread flooding and a regional severe weather outbreak to the Lower Ohio Valley during the afternoon and evening of December 21st. Heavy rains, on the order of 2 to locally as much as 3 inches, developed during the morning hours across southern Indiana and the Kentucky counties along the Ohio River. These heavy rains, augmented by a December record 1.7 inches of precipitable water, developed along a stationary front that lay along but just north of the Ohio River from Cairo, IL to Cincinnati. These early rains, combined with thunderstorms during the afternoon and early evening, brought areal and river flooding to north central Kentucky.

By early afternoon, low pressure deepened as it moved northeast across central Illinois and northern Indiana. Rains ceased by mid-day as central Kentucky fell within the warm sector of the developing cyclone. Record high temperatures in the lower 70s arrived by early evening. A severe squall line developed by mid-afternoon from southern Illinois southwards along the Mississippi River. This line of storms, fueled by ample moisture and an exceptionally strong low level jet in excess of 50 kts, became severe as it moved across southern Indiana and central Kentucky during the evening hours. Three circulations within this line produced tornadoes across central Kentucky and the Bluegrass Region. For the Louisville weather office, these 3 December tornadoes were the first observed since 1971. This line also brought widespread damaging winds, especially to the Bluegrass Region and Hart and Barren Counties in Central Kentucky.