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EF1 tornado in Franklin County, Kentucky

Tornado December 6, 2021 · Franklin County, Kentucky

EF1
Rating
1.5 mi
Path length
50 yd
Path width
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 EF1 means. On the Enhanced Fujita scale, EF1 is moderate damage: roofs badly stripped, mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned, windows broken, consistent with estimated gusts of 86–110 mph. The rating comes from a survey of the worst damage after the storm, not from a wind measurement, so it says as much about what the tornado hit as about how strong it was.

What the National Weather Service wrote

The National Weather Service conducted a storm damage survey in Franklin County from storms that occurred early Monday morning.

The survey team determined that a tornado touched down on the 1100 block of Manley Leestown Road, about two miles north of Frankfort. Drone imagery showed a well built 40 by 60 foot barn had significant roof damage and the south wall blown out.

The skipping tornado then went through a large grove of trees. Dozens of trees were twisted and uprooted, ranging from cedar to maple to Osage orange trees. About a dozen cedar trees were twisted and laying in multiple directions.

The tornado then hit a well-built two-story house on the 100 block of Shadrick Ferry Road. The southwest side of the house had significant damage and that portion of the roof fell to the north northeasterly direction. Insulation from the house went from the north all the way to a southwesterly direction. A doorbell camera showed the distinct tornado with debris being thrown in all directions around 411 AM EST.

The tornado appeared to lift briefly before touching down on the 6000 block of Owenton Road. A brand new, well constructed 30 by 50 barn took significant damage to the roof. Both garage doors were blown in with tool chests and many heavier items being scattered about the garage. Throughout the entire barn the thick concrete foundation was shifted about an inch. Immediately next to the barn, there was a one story family residence that had no damage whatsoever.

Large sections of roof were thrown 60 yards into the neighbors trees and yard. The tornado lifted at this point. The winds were consistently between 85 and 90 mph along this narrow path, and the width was between 40 and 50 yards.

The National Weather Service would like to thank Franklin County Emergency Management Deputy Ray Kinney for his assistance with the survey.

The wider storm

A potent cold front combined with elevated wind energy crossing the region allowed a widespread area of showers and thunderstorms to develop late Sunday night through early Monday morning. Some wind damage and minor flooding occurred, along with two EF1 tornadoes.

Began near Choateville (38.2337, -84.8811).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

1 more tornado the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF1 Scott County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 994471. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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