Two anchored mobile homes were also swept away and destroyed, with their frames tossed and bent, one of which was thrown 100 yards (91m). Cheney Orr / Reuters Some logistics facilities and warehouses were leveled in an industrial park as the tornado exited town, and several metal self-storage unit buildings and large garages were obliterated nearby. (NOAA/NASA), Before and after satellite imagery of the Cambridge Shores community on Kentucky Lake in Marshall County. Its path length of 165 miles was the ninth longest tornado path ever recorded in the U.S. (NWS Storm Survey), Ground level view of the destruction in downtown Mayfield. Weather History. The tornado paralleled the OhioGrayson county line, and very briefly crossed a bend in the Rough River into Grayson County. Experimental Graphical Hazardous Weather Outlook, Evansville Local Standard Radar (low bandwidth), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Before and after satellite imagery of downtown Mayfield. 165 damaged and 18 destroyed Its path length of 165 miles was the ninth longest tornado path ever recorded in the U.S. Tornado devastation in Mayfield on December 11, 2021. Tornado . Eight of the tornado warnings issued during the event by the NWS offices in Memphis, Tennessee, and Paducah, Kentucky were tornado emergency declarations, the most issued during the month of December (breaking the previous record of three issued on December 23, 2015). It should have shut down':Inside the final frantic hours of the Mayfield candle factory. Click here for an interactive StoryMap about the tornado outbreak that occurred across the region. Tornado devastation of Mayfield's central business district. Once the tornado moved out of Pembroke, two mobile homes were completely Ohio, Breckenridge, and Grayson County, KY: Large trees sustained severe denuding and debarking, grass was scoured from the ground, and vehicles were thrown through the air and severely mangled. Thetornado initially produced EF-1 damage but while progressing northeast, it continued to strengthen to EF3 as it approached Dresden, TN. [26], Afterward, the tornado intensified even further, reaching near high-end EF4 intensity as it tore directly through the center of town, resulting in widespread, catastrophic damage throughout the historic downtown square of Mayfield. AFTER (right): this image shows the damage to homes and buildings after the tornado in Mayfield, Ky. on Dec. 11, 2021. Trees in this area were debarked and denuded, cars were thrown, and mobile homes were obliterated. Where did the tornado hit in Kentucky? [28] As the tornado entered Mayfield, it regained EF4 intensity, and numerous homes were damaged or destroyed along Cardinal Road, some of which were leveled or swept from their foundations. The tornado received a maximum rating of EF2 in Stewart County, and 4 people were injured. Live updates: Deadly tornadoes slam through six states One of the most devastated sites is the southwestern Kentucky city of Mayfield, where a tornado hit the Mayfield Consumer Products. Another person remains missing in Lake County, he said. "I think the largest loss of life in this tornado event is and will be there.". After exiting Bremen, the tornado crossed through mainly rural areas of eastern Muhlenberg, Ohio, Breckenridge, and Grayson counties. Chris Phillips/Maverick Media Group, LLC via Reuters. Along the outskirts of the town were small barns or farm outbuildings with collapsed roofs. [16][17] By the pre-dawn hours of December11, a decrease in instability led to a gradual weakening of a line of thunderstorms stretching along the associated cold front from eastern Kentucky southward into central Alabama. All NOAA. Also, the fast forward speed of the tornado had little dwell time of strong winds over a building and thus, the damage likely would have been more severe if the tornado were slower.[59], The Western Kentucky tornado killed 57 people and resulted in between 508 and 533 injuries (according to figures from the National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky). Land Between the Lakes area of Stewart County and did massive tree damage to heavily wooded areas uprooting thousands of trees along its path. "[73] On December 17, it was reported that multiple workers at the candle factory filed a lawsuit against Mayfield Consumer Products in state court, seeking compensation and punitive damages. Lucas Aulbach can be reached at laulbach@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4649 or on Twitter @LucasAulbach. The large and well-constructed Graves County Courthouse had much of its roof torn off, its clock tower collapsed, and it had some of its exterior upper-floor walls knocked down. Click to enlarge. About. AFTER (right): Overview of damage in downtown Mayfield, Ky. on Dec. 11, 2021. . 12:01am CST #SPC_Watch WW 2 TORNADO AR KY MO TN 010555Z - 011300Z, #arwx #kywx #mowx #tnwx, https://t.co . Across Graves County, 24 people died, and at least 200 people were injured. The tornado moved northeast, uprooting and snapping numerous trees along its path. Numerous trees and large branches were broken near and along the Western Kentucky Parkway, starting at the Wendell Ford Regional Training Center grounds and continuing to near Central City. Continuing into northern Muhlenberg County, yet another tornado emergency was issued for the community of Bremen as the tornado approached from the southwest. In Kentucky, it struck Mayfield directly before moving northeast through Benton, Princeton and Beaver Dam before weakening in Breckinridge County. After crossing Kentucky Lake, the tornado thrashed across the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, where thousands of trees were ravaged. [69] In December 2022, a temporary memorial was placed in the Mayfield court square. A CSX freight line train was derailed as the tornado struck Barnsley, and 25 multi-ton freight cars were derailed, several of which were thrown from the tracks, including one that was tossed into a house. [60], Damage totals vary by source, but the tornado produced profound destruction in multiple communities. ABC News' Victoria Arancio, Ahmad Hemingway, Matt Foster, Hope Osemwenkhae and Matthew Vann contributed to this report. Here are the latest weather forecasts for Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas. More than half of Kentucky's 120 counties did not have a dedicated OB-GYN in 2020 and 2021. First responders at the scene of a nursing home damaged by severe weather in Monette, Arkansas, where several people were trapped inside, Dec. 11, 2021. 200 PHOTOS . :EF3, or higherEarly estimates of the strength and size of the main Kentucky tornado. The tornado began in Obion County, in northwest Tennessee, and tracked across 11 counties in western Kentucky: Fulton, Hickman, Graves, Marshall, Lyon, Caldwell, Hopkins, Muhlenberg, Ohio, Breckenridge, and Grayson. "This has been the most devastating tornado event in our state's history," Beshear said during a Saturday morning press briefing. I bailed eastward about 15 seconds later", "Tornado Emergency For Earlington and Afton, KY", "Kentucky tornado derails a train in Hopkins County; one car lands on home", "Before and after photos from a newly constructed home in Bremen. [63] On December 15, Mayor of Mayfield Kathy Stewart ONan said that recovery efforts would continue. "We will get through this, we will rebuild," Beshear said early Saturday. Hopkinsville, KY President Joe Biden approved the emergency declaration, which applies to 15 impacted counties, Saturday afternoon. Tornado devastation in Bremen on December 13, 2021. EF 3, or higher? [1] A later 58th fatality was the result of a heart attack while clearing debris and is listed as indirect. The First Christian Church sustained collapse of its domed roof and upper walls, while the First United Methodist Church's sanctuary, which was constructed with very thick masonry exterior walls, collapsed. (NOAA/NASA), Before and after satellite imagery of Dawson Springs in Hopkins County. It will be a "miracle" if anyone is found alive at this point, he said during a briefing Saturday afternoon. Its path stretched more than 220 miles, Beshear said at a 5 a.m. press conference covering the devastation. Damage to a house in rural Hickman County. Documentary titled "The Deadliest Tornado Outbreak in 10 Years: December 10th, 2021 - A Retrospective" which includes NWS and SPC interviews, Tornado outbreak of December 1011, 2021 Meteorological synopsis, Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks, List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes (2020present), "Dec 8, 2021 0830 UTC Day 3 Severe Thunderstorm Outlook", "Dec 9, 2021 0700 UTC Day 2 Convective Outlook", "Dec 10, 2021 1630 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook", "Deadly path: How tornadoes ripped through states", "December tornadoes aren't rare, but Friday's outbreak was something totally different", "The record-breaking tornadoes that swept the United States, by the numbers", "An overview of the Mesoscale Discussions", "How Friday night's rare and deadly December tornado outbreak unfolded", "Many trapped, two dead as tornado hits nursing home in Arkansas -media", "Environment Canada issues wind warning for most of southern Ontario", "Storm Event Database 2021-12-10 20:54 CST-6", "Some ground scouring along Hwy 51 between Clinton and Fulton, KY", "At least 70 feared dead in Kentucky as tornadoes rip through swaths of U.S.", "Catastrophic tornado damage reported in Mayfield, Kentucky", "Thousands without heat, water after tornadoes kill dozens", "Kentucky tornadoes: 8 confirmed dead at candle factory, 8 still missing", "Factory workers threatened with firing if they left before tornado, employees say", "Deadly tornadoes, storms strike US; roof collapse at Amazon", "Kentucky tornado death toll: 50 people have been confirmed dead after storms by officials", "Severe tornado hits Mayfield, Kentucky, destroying buildings; Police say loss of life 'expected', "Usually, we can call these "hail spikes." The death toll in the "most severe tornado event in Kentucky's history" may end up "exceeding 100 before the day is done," Beshear said. Seventy-sixpeople have been confirmed dead, Kentucky Gov. [63][64] Beshear also announced the creation of a tornado relief fund and asked people to donate blood, as donated blood was running low throughout the pandemic. "We don't know where all those people are.". In Bremen, the tornado claimed the lives of 11 residents of the town of 300 people. A road sign along the Western Kentucky Parkway was blown about a tenth of a mile near the end of the track. A few farm outbuildings were also damaged or destroyed in this area. Five others suffered serious injuries. Many family residence homes experienced loss of significant roof covering material, collapsed chimneys and garage doors, and walls completely folded with broken windows and shattered glass. The storm originated in Arkansas, according to Kentucky Division of Emergency Management director Michael Dossett, and touched down in Missouri and Tennessee before making its way into the Bluegrass State, where it ripped through the western half of the state before finally weakening in central Kentucky. [1] Only large piles of bricks and lumber remained in the hardest-hit portions of the downtown area, and streets were left buried under debris. [41] Damage continued through the Briensburg community at EF2 intensity, where homes sustained partial to total roof loss, outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, and a metal truss tower collapsed. Structures destroyed: 300 (estimate), Hopkins County, KY Deaths: 1 The worst of the damage occurred near the Dawson Springs park, where several homes were completely destroyed, including a few low rise apartment buildings. Cars were thrown hundreds of yards and mangled. Large barns and garages were completely demolished, and a small brick office structure was destroyed, along with homes, very large silos, and a fertilizer storage facility. Fulton County, KY: At 10:14 p.m., the tornado reached Caldwell County. [26], The tornado reached a peak width of 1.5 miles (2.4km), and was on the ground for nearly three hours, tracking 165.6 miles (266.5km) from Woodland Mills to Rough River Dam State Resort Park.