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F3 tornado in McLean County, Kentucky

Tornado May 11, 2003 · McLean County, Kentucky

Rating

1.8 mi

Path length

80 yd

Path width

Injuries

$400K

Damage as recorded

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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 F3 means. This tornado was rated on Fujita’s original scale, used until 2007. F3 meant severe damage: whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned; the scale paired it with winds of 158–206 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

One home was destroyed, and one home was severely damaged. A mobile home disintegrated, with the frame found one quarter mile away. Several barns or sheds were destroyed. Two vehicles were rolled. Numerous trees were uprooted, and some were blown some distance. The damage path began about one quarter mile west of Highway 81 in the south end of Sacramento, then extended eastward. The two injuries were relatively minor. Peak winds were estimated near 170 MPH.

Began near Sacremento (37.4167, -87.2667).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5352931. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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