TornadoLookup

Home / Kentucky / Hardin

EF1 tornado in Hardin County, Kentucky

Tornado December 11, 2021 · Hardin County, Kentucky

EF1
Rating
1.9 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

An EF-1 tornado touched down near Long Hollow Road and snapped or uprooted several trees which resulted in the road being blocked and powerlines coming down. The tornado continued to the northeast and did sporadic wind damage. It approached Rineyville-Big Springs Road where it hit a couple of farm buildings and resulted in wall and roof damage. The width of the tornado was fairly narrow as a nearby farm building was untouched/unharmed. The tornado continued to race off to the northeast and caused sporadic tree damage. The tornado eventually lifted in a heavily wooded area near the Cochran family farm.

The wider storm

Strong southern winds brought warm temperatures and plenty of moisture into an environment of strong wind shear ahead of an advancing cold front. This resulted in unusually warm temperatures for a December day and the ingredients to produce a historic tornado outbreak and flash flooding. This included multiple long track tornadoes. Central Kentucky saw 18 tornadoes that injured 96 and killed 18. An additional death occurred in a flash flood.

Began near North Four Corners (37.7753, -86.1383).

Other tornadoes from the same storm system

12 more tornadoes the National Weather Service filed under this storm episode.

EF4 Mayfield Tornado (2021) 58 deadEF3 Bowling Green Tornado (2021) 17 deadEF3 Taylor County 1 deadEF3 Logan CountyEF2 Warren CountyEF2 Boyle CountyEF2 Hart CountyEF1 Spencer CountyEF1 Marion CountyEF1 Madison CountyEF1 Madison CountyEF0 Monroe County

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 996857. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

Tornadoes near your address

See every tornado that passed near a place you know, measured to its path.