F3 Tornado — Henderson, Kentucky

2005-11-06 · near Henderson, Henderson, Kentucky

Event narrative

The tornado that would cause mass casualties in the Evansville, Indiana area crossed the Ohio River a second time. This second crossing was from Vanderburgh County, Indiana into Henderson County. The tornado then crossed the river a third time less than a mile west of the U.S. Highway 41 twin bridges. The river does not form the state line at the third crossing. From the bridges, extensive tree damage was visible along both sides of the Ohio River. Almost immediately after crossing the river, the tornado slammed into a horse racing facility named Ellis Park. There was extensive damage to grandstands and housing facilities for jockeys. A few race horses were killed. This facility was the first major facility to be impacted by the tornado. All of the Henderson County tornado injuries were at Ellis Park. The tornado then crossed back into Vanderburgh County, Indiana after striking Ellis Park.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.8833, -87.5833)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5480521. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.