F1 tornado in Marshall County, Kentucky

Tornado May 6, 2003 · Marshall County, Kentucky

Rating

1.0 mi

Whole path

80 yd

Path width

NOAA records this tornado county by county. Its path ran through Marshall County → Marshall County; the totals above are for the whole tornado.

EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 80 yards (0.05 mi) — zoom in and the swath grows to true scale. Other tornadoes recorded nearby that day are shown faint.

What F1 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F1 meant moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken; the scale paired it with winds of 73–112 mph, figures later judged too high, especially toward the top of the scale, and revised downward in the Enhanced Fujita scale. Ratings then, as now, came from the damage.

What the National Weather Service wrote

Large trees were down, and sheds and barns were damaged. Peak winds were estimated near 85 MPH. The damage area was along U.S. Highway 68.

The wider storm

The most prolific tornado-producing storm of the night entered western Kentucky near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and moved east, passing between Paducah and Mayfield. The storm continued to spawn tornadoes, mostly of weak to moderate intensity, until it reached Kentucky Lake. Elsewhere, severe thunderstorms moved northeast across northwest Kentucky, producing sporadic wind damage and a tornado. Sporadic wind damage occurred in Livingston, Crittenden, Webster, and Daviess Counties, with a tornado in Union and Henderson Counties.

Began near Briensburg (37.6500, -87.7500).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

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

F2 Ballard County F1 McCracken County F1 Graves County F1 Graves County F1 Marshall County F1 Union County F1 Henderson County F1 Hickman County F1 Graves County F0 McCracken County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5352102. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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