National Weather Service Raw Text Product

788 
NOUS43 KJKL 211649
PNSJKL
KYZ079-080-220500-

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Jackson KY
1249 PM EDT Wed May 21 2025


...NWS Damage Survey for May 16, 2025 Russell, Pulaski, and Laurel
County Tornado Event...

.Overview...A large tornado touched down near the Whittle
community in Russell County. The tornado then continued eastward 
for just over 55 miles, tracking across all of Pulaski County and 
into Laurel County; where it lifted just east of the city of 
London. During it's time on the ground it caused considerable 
damage in the city of Somerset, as well as London, where most of 
the casualties occurred. The peak wind speed was 170 mph based on
damage incurred in the Sunshine Hills subdivision. Satellite 
imagery also shows a track a mile wide as it plowed through parts 
of the Daniel Boone National Forest between Somerset and London. 
This is one of the strongest tornadoes and also the deadliest to 
ever impact the Jackson NWS coverage area. 


.Somerset-London...

Rating:                 EF4
Estimated Peak Wind:    170 mph
Path Length /statute/:  55.60 miles
Path Width /maximum/:   1700 yards
Fatalities:             19
Injuries:               N/A

Start Date:             05/16/2025
Start Time:             10:33 PM EDT
Start Location:         Whittle / Russell County / KY
Start Lat/Lon:          37.0277 / -84.956

End Date:               05/16/2025
End Time:               11:56 PM EDT
End Location:           2 W Lida / Laurel County / KY
End Lat/Lon:            37.0842 / -83.9647

Survey Summary:

NWS teams dispatched on Saturday morning to Russell and Pulaski
Counties, where they were able to confirm a touchdown near the
community of Whittle, east of Jamestown on Tucker Ridge, shortly
after 10:30 PM EDT. The tornado then continued eastward across 
the Pulaski County line, where it caused considerable damage near 
the Faubush and Nancy communities, before making it's way to the 
south side of Somerset. Here it strengthened as it came down a 
steep hillside into the city. Some residences and numerous 
businesses were affected, with survey results showing up to EF3 
damage along Parkers Mill Way and S Hwy 27. On the eastern edge of
the city it affected the South Kentucky RECC, causing 
catastrophic damage to all buildings, as well as surrounding 
businesses. 

The damage path continued on eastward towards the Daniel Boone 
National Forest, where additional EF3 damage was incurred. This
includes the lifting, crumpling, and throwing of a high tension 
power pole eastward several hundred yards downwind in a nearby 
field off of Rush Branch Road, and destroying multiple residences.
High-resolution satellite imagery shows the tornado plowing 
through the Daniel Boone, with complete destruction of trees 
through the middle of the path. It also reveals a path width of 
nearly a mile wide during this time, including the strongest 
inflow into the storm. This was also confirmed by the survey crew 
on Monday. 

The tornado then exited the forest and moved towards the south
side of London. It is at this point that it started impacting 
large residential areas as it set sites on the London-Corbin Airport.
Two teams surveyed the damage in southern London for several 
days. The survey results showed that the tornado continued to 
strengthen just west of the I-75 corridor, as it started towards 
the Sunshine Hills subdivision. It was here that some of the 
heaviest damage occurred, with the tornado taking a direct path 
through the subdivision. Many homes were wiped clean from their 
foundations, with vehicles thrown and trees debarked with only 
stubs of the largest limbs left. It is in this subdivision where 
the majority of casualties occurred. Survey teams and subject- 
matter experts all looked at the damage that had occurred in this 
location and agreed that the tornado had increased again to around
170mph based on the damage, making it an EF-4 rated tornado. 

After the tornado passed over I-75, it headed for the airport, 
continuing to cause high end EF-3 damage to both the airport and 
residential communities adjacent to the west. After exiting the 
airport, it caused extensive damage at Levi Jackson Park, the 
Laurel County Fairgrounds, Crooked Creek Golf Course, and 
neighboring subdivisions. The tornado began to lose considerable 
strength after this point, with generally EF0 damage reported as 
it neared East Laurel Road (Hwy-80) and Mt. Salem Rd (KY-488). The
tornado appears to have lifted just east of KY-488, based on NWS 
ground surveys, satellite, and aerial video. NWS survey teams 
followed the circulation path eastward through Clay and Leslie, 
but were unable to find any reports that the tornado touched back 
down in these counties. 

By the time it lifted, just a few minutes before midnight, the 
tornado had carved out a damage path of 55.6 miles over the course
of 3 counties. One death was reported in Russell and another in 
Pulaski County. Sadly, 17 lives were lost in Laurel County. Our 
hearts go out to those affected in the line of this unprecedented 
tornado. 

The NWS Jackson, KY wants to give special thanks to NWS Nashville, NWS
Louisville, and the NWS Quick Response Team for their damage 
survey assistance. Also, thank you to the Pulaski and Laurel 
County Emergency Management, as well as to local law enforcement 
for aiding the NWS staff during the survey process. 

&&

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

EF0.....65 to 85 mph
EF1.....86 to 110 mph
EF2.....111 to 135 mph
EF3.....136 to 165 mph
EF4.....166 to 200 mph
EF5.....>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.


$$
JMW