National Weather Service Raw Text Product

582 
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Public Information Statement 
National Weather Service Louisville, KY 
305 PM EST Wed Dec 22 2021 /205 PM CST Wed Dec 22 2021/

...NWS Damage Survey for 12/11/2021 Tornado Event…    	

.Warren County Kentucky Tornado…        						

EF Scale Rating:           EF-3
Estimated Peak Wind:       165 MPH
Path Length/Statue/:       29.8 Miles
Path Width/Maximum/:       Max .25 miles
Fatalities:                17	
Injuries:                  63

Start Date:                12/11/2021
Start Time:                1:09 AM CST/209 AM EST
Start Location:            3 Miles WNW Rockfield
Start Lat/Lon:             36.916 / -86.618		

End Date:                  12/11/2021
End Time:                  1:39 AM CST/239 AM EST
End Location:              3.3 Miles NW Rocky Hill			
End Lat/Lon:               37.115 / -86.151

Survey Summary:

...EF3 tornado in Bowling Green and Warren County of 165 mph...The National Weather Service in Louisville surveyed a tornadic 
supercell over the course of 6 days in Warren County which directly 
struck Bowling Green. The new tornado formed, as the northwestern 
Warren County tornado lifted, and this new tornado became the 
dominant twister which struck Bowling Green, first touched down in 
rural southwestern Warren County.  The first touchdown was just south of the intersection of Wimpee 
Smith Road and Petros Browning Rd. This consisted of twisted, 
snapped, topped and uprooted softwood and hardwood trees. The 
tornado was about 200 yards wide, with EF1 winds of 90 mph. Aerial photography confirmed the tornado was continuous in this 
rugged area of southwest Warren County. The tornado increased to 
EF2, between 120 and 125 mph, doing major damage to several older 
barns along Tommy Smith Road. It threw a 1700 pound cattle trailer, 
300 yards into a creek ravine.The NWS drone showed a distinct narrow main funnel within the larger 
funnel. This 30 to 35 yard funnel was clearly seen scouring the corn 
field and produced the most concentrated damage. The narrow funnel 
crossed Browning Rd and hit a well constructed house. The only major 
part of the house that survived was an interior bathroom and 
hallway. Winds were estimated at 135 mph, and areas outside the 
narrow funnel had damage of 100 mph, and the entire overall width 
was 250 yards wide. The survey team found extensive tree damage 
along Van Meter Rd and Fuqua Rd and aerial photography confirmed the 
tornado was continuous in this rugged, mainly forested area. The tornado did minor roof damage to some homes along Blue Level 
Road of 86 to 90 mph but did more substantial roof and side damage 
to several barns, of 90 to 95 mph. Based on drone technology, there 
appeared to be two distinct areas of damage, and likely had a 
smaller satellite tornado. There was extensive roof damage to the 
Zomi Agape fellowship center with insulation thrown both downwind 
and on the upwind side of the building. The tornado increased in speed when it was over Old Tramm Rd by 
Rembrandt Court and Powell Road. One house on Rembrandt Court was 
knocked out it’s foundation by the garage attachment and slid about 
15 feet. Other homes were knocked down to just interior bathroom and 
hallway remaining, but there were some foundation construction 
concerns. EF2 winds of 130 to 135 mph were evidenced in this area. Several houses were knocked down to the foundation, but there was 
somefoundation construction concerns. In addition, farm equipment 
from a barn on the right side of Powell St was thrown directly into 
homes on the left side of Powell Rd. The survey team found significant house damage to dozens of homes in 
the Creekwood subdivision. This included exterior walls collapsed, 
roofs blown off, foundations severely compromised, garages blown in, 
insulation blown on all four sides of houses, and garages severely 
damaged or destroyed. In fact, they were dozens of double garages 
damaged, where one garage door blew in and the other garage door 
blew out. There were hundreds of powerlines and snapped power poles 
down throughout the county.  Trees were uprooted snapped and twisted facing in all directions. 
Dozens of cars were flipped, twisted, turned, and thrown into homes. 
There was clear evidence of 2 x 4 thrown into the ground, like 
missiles. Several splintered boards were impaled into vehicle 
windshields, tires, and along the hood grills. Most of the damage 
was rated EF2 from 115 to 135 mph except for 8 homes near Mossy 
Creek. The survey team brought in engineers from WKU to look at 8 homes, 
which were wiped down to the foundation from Moss Creek to Mossy 
Stone. Engineers helped in determining winds speeds were 160 mph for 
these houses, a high EF3 rating. Tragically, several fatalities 
occurred in the subdivision area. The tornado was 250 yards wide in 
Creekwood, but increased to about 350 yards wide before crossing 
Veterans Parkway. The tornado crossed the William Natcher Parkway and hit large 
townhouses along Veterans Parkway. There was numerous windows 
shattered and some roof damage. One of the town houses was shifted 
off the foundation, but there were no bricks or other support on it. 
The tornado crossed Russellville Rd hitting many business. At Royal Motor Cars, several storage buildings were destroyed, major 
loss of roof panels at Cabreras Mexican restaurant and an auto parts 
store. At Plumbers Supply company at 2321 Russellville Rd. The 
garage was blown in and collapsed. The main building had a shifted 
foundation, and a partial collapse of some exterior cinderblock 
walls, tractors and trailers were twisted and flipped, and there was 
numerous power poles snapped. The Shell gas station had major damage to service station canopy and 
store, as well as walls of an Enterprise car rental. The tornado 
increased to quarter mile wide and went from EF2 of 130 mph, from 
Royal Motorcars to AutoZone, and then decreased to EF2, 115-120 mph 
and narrowed to 1/8th of a mile with major tree and roof damage 
along Lealand Street, Cedar Ridge, and University Drive. A fully 
loaded dumpster was thrown 250 yards. At Russell Road and Springhill 
Avenue, a Marathon gas station had its pumps destroyed, and most of 
the exterior walls was destroyed. The tornado missed Western Kentucky University by 225 yards, but 
debris was thrown all over the campus including some impaled debris 
into buildings. The tornado went along 31W including doing significant damage to 
roof at Bobas lounge, a liquor store, and a smoke shop. This was 
estimated to be 110 to 120 mph, and tornado width decreased to 250 
yards by Walgreens and Taco Bell.  The tornado, appeared to be slightly elevated, doing mainly tree 
damage, power poles, and house roofing and siding along Magnolia Ave 
and Nutwood St. It crossed Lehman, went along Covington, with wind 
speeds mainly of 95 to 110 mph. The owner 708 Nutwood said, “ your 
warning saved our lives, as our house was violently shaking, but we 
sought shelter and lived.”  Much of the tree damage was facing from 
the northeast to the northwest. The tornado paralleled Cemetery Rd 
doing roof and gutter damage along with power lines and tree damage. The tornadoes speed and winds increased along Cherokee Dr. with 
roofs removed and large healthy hardwood trees uprooted. The width 
increased to 300 yards and speeds to 105 mph with width of 225 
yards. The narrow 175 yard funnel, hit the Indian Hills golf course, 
twisting, snapping, and topping numerous pines and cedars with winds 
speeds of 86 to 90 mph. The tornado then crossed the Barren River 
and increased in speed along Old Porter Pike to EF2, between 111 and 
120 mph. Huge diameter hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted, 
including several very tall oak trees. There was also extensive roof 
damage to some well built homes. It weakened as it approached exit 
28, doing EF1 damage of 90-95 mph to Hucks gas station and damaged a 
very tall Wendy’s sign. On the north side of 31 W, a fully loaded 18 wheeler facing west, 
was knocked over and was dragged 15 yards to a northwesterly 
directly. Winds were increased to EF2, of 115 mph. At the Corvette 
plant there was significant roof damage, with metal sheeting, 
insulation, HVAC units, and other debris thrown hundreds of yards 
downwind. Light poles in the parking lot were snapped, One of the 
security checkpoints at the Corvette plant was totally destroyed 
with large sections of the building being thrown several hundred 
yards, and weighing over 100 pounds, striking several vehicles. 
Winds were mainly in the 110 to 120 mph range. The tornado continued to parallel I 65, just west of the interstate. 
It struck several homes at Bristow Rd and Friendship Rd. Most of the 
damage was done to roofs siding and gutters and destroyed a well-
built greenhouse. Numerous power poles and lines were down and the 
debris pattern was facing from southeasterly, all the way to 
northwesterly.  There was some barn and tree damage near Kelly Road and the CSX 
railroad crossing. Winds were 85 to 90 mph and width of 200 yards.  The tornado really increased across the TransPark at Exit 30. A few 
metal building structures at the peak intensity of the tornado 
sustained heavy damage. The middle building totally collapsed. 
Analysis showed that building was well constructed, but the shearing 
force from the intense tornado ripped the metal frame from the 
anchoring plates of the building. Analysis of the third building 
showed the tornado had weakened some at this point, down to EF2 
levels. The WSR-8D showed a Tornadic Debris Signature downstream of 
this area, which was was lofted to around 18 kft, right at the high 
end of EF3 of 165 mph. The tornado weakened further downstream as it caused roofing and 
siding damage to several structures and tree damage into southeast 
Edmonson County. Civil Air Patrol imagery helped identify the end 
point of this tornado.The National Weather Service would like to thank Dr. Jason Wilson 
and Tyler Baker from Western Kentucky University, who analyzed the 
structural elements of our damage survey. We would also like to 
thank Dr. Josh Durkee, professor in the Earth, Environmental, and 
Atmospheric Science Department at WKU, along with many WKU 
meteorology students, who helped for days after their final exams 
with the surveys. Also, the Kentuckiana Volunteer Aviators flew a 
track to help confirm the tornado end point.The National Weather Service would like to extend our deepest 
sympathies to the families who lost loved ones and experienced 
tremendous devastation to their properties.

EF Scale:  The Enhanced Fujita Scale classifies tornadoes into the 
following categories:

EF0...Weak.....65 to 85 MPH
EF1...Weak.....86 to 110 MPH
EF2...Strong...111 to 135 MPH
EF3...Strong...136 to 165 MPH
EF4...Violent..166 to 200 MPH
EF5...Violent..>200 MPH

Note:  The information in this statement is preliminary and subject 
to  change pending final review of the event and publication in NWS 
storm data.

For the latest updates, please visit our webpage at 
weather.gov/louisville. 

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JDG/RJS