F3 Tornado — Christian, Kentucky

2006-04-02 · near Gracey, Christian, Kentucky

Event narrative

The tornado formed from a long-track supercell that originated in southeast Missouri near Poplar Bluff. The tornado began less than two miles from the Trigg County line with an east-southeast movement, then curved slightly left before crossing Highway 91. The tornado moved east-northeast across central Christian County, passing less than four miles north of downtown Hopkinsville, before crossing into Todd County less than a mile north of Pilot Rock. Near the beginning of the damage path, a church was levelled. Across the county, 91 homes were destroyed, and another 171 homes sustained varying degrees of damage. Several people were pulled from the debris of their homes during a door-to-door search that lasted into the next morning. Of the 22 people directly injured by the tornado, 17 were checked in at the local hospital, and five were transferred to regional hospitals. Another ten or so people received injuries not directly inflicted by the tornado, such as driving into fallen trees. None of the injuries, which consisted mostly of cuts, bruises, and fractures, were considered life-threatening. Numerous garages, barns, and outbuildings were destroyed. Some vehicles were damaged or destroyed. Hundreds of trees were downed, snapped, or uprooted. Power was out to most of the city of Hopkinsville for about six hours as a result of downed steel towers that carry primary transmission lines. Peak winds were estimated near 185 MPH. The average path width was 500 yards. It should be noted that the initial tornado reformed or reorganized about 7 miles northeast of Hopkinsville, leaving a break in the tornado path less than a mile long. Downburst wind damage occurred both north and south of the area where the tornado reorganized, resulting in a two-mile wide swath of damage along Highway 107. The webcam at the local hospital captured the tornado as it passed north of downtown Hopkinsville.

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Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5501849. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.