EF1 tornado in Carlisle County, Kentucky

Numerous trees were uprooted and snapped by this tornado, which passed across U.S. Highway 51. Peak winds were estimated near 110 mph. This was the first of three tornadoes that were spawned along a path extending northeastward to the Paducah area.

Clusters of thunderstorms formed over western Kentucky early in the afternoon. Several of these storms produced large hail or damaging wind. However, the main event was a line of severe thunderstorms that entered southeast Missouri about mid-afternoon and then tracked east across western Kentucky late in the afternoon and early in the evening. Several EF-1 tornadoes were associated with this line, in addition to scattered pockets of wind damage. The storms occurred under a rather strong southwest wind flow ahead of a weak cold front over far western Missouri. A 500 mb shortwave trough over the western high Plains provided some additional support for the storms. The air mass was strongly unstable, with surface capes over 3000 j/kg.