Mayfield Tornado (2021)

This tornado is a continuation of the western Kentucky (Mayfield) tornado and will go down as the longest continuous tornado track on record in the Commonwealth of Kentucky at 163 miles (plus another two miles in Tennessee). This tornado developed in Obion County, Tennessee near Woodland Mills Road before tracking to the northeast through western Kentucky and on into central Kentucky (see Storm Data from the Memphis, Tennessee and the Paducah, Kentucky offices for more information on the beginning portion of this tornado). The tornado finally came to an end in Grayson County, Kentucky at Rough River Dam State Park. This is the fifth of five segments of this tornado in the Louisville, Kentucky County Warning Area. The tornado travelled another 1 mile to 1.5 miles to a large boat storage facility on the Falls of Rough Road. The boat facility was heavily damaged due to winds easily tearing apart open boat storage structures. Large debris from these structures was scattered 300 yards across Falls of Rough Road and a runway. Power lines were also taken down along Falls of Rough Road. Damage ended just shy of the Rough River Dam Resort State Park on the western Banks of Rough River Lake.

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.