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F1 tornado in Henderson County, Kentucky

Tornado May 27, 2004 · Henderson County, Kentucky

F1
Rating
0.2 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
$45K
Damage as recorded
EF0EF1EF2EF3EF4EF5Unrated

The path drawn at its surveyed width of 50 yards (0.03 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

A double wide mobile home was shoved 10 feet off its base. A 12-by-16 foot wooden shed was destroyed, killing 26 baby chicks. Several trees on the property were blown down. Peak winds were estimated around 110 MPH.

The wider storm

Severe thunderstorms with widespread damaging winds moved east from southern Illinois, passing across Union, Henderson, and Daviess Counties. A series of intense downbursts with peak winds up to 120 MPH struck northern Daviess County. The severe damage was concentrated in a 5-mile wide path from Stanley through Owensboro to Yelvington. Approximately 40 to 50 houses received major damage, mostly due to trees falling on them. Another 40 to 50 homes received minor damage. Several barns and garages were destroyed. A house roof was blown off. Hundreds of downed trees, power lines, and power poles blocked numerous roads. A woman was trapped in her vehicle when a tree fell on it. An irrigation rig was overturned in the Stanley area, and at least one trailer was blown off its foundation. Debris and even a whole building blocked roads in the Stanley area of Daviess County. Damage in Union and Henderson Counties consisted of widespread tree damage. Trees were down across many primary roads, including the Pennyrile Parkway and U.S. Highways 41 and 60. A National Weather Service damage survey estimated peak winds near Geneva in Henderson County were near 75 MPH. At Geneva, numerous trees were down, a sun room was blown off a house, and there was minor structural damage such as broken windows and shingles off roofs. One large tree limb fell through the wall of a house. A survey of the damage in eastern Henderson County revealed a very short-track tornado near Spottsville. In Union County, many trees were down in Uniontown and Morganfield, and some power poles were snapped off. Some roof damage occurred at a shopping center on Highway 60 West near Morganfield, as well as two job corps center buildings in the same area. In the same location about a mile west of Morganfield, 50 to 75 trees were down. A garage was damaged in Uniontown. A National Weather Service damage survey indicated peak winds were near 75 MPH at Uniontown. The vast majority of significant damage was in the northern half of Union, Henderson, and Daviess Counties. Several trees were blown down in extreme northern Mclean County at Beech Grove.

Began near Spottsville (37.8333, -87.4333).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 5398021. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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