What you see above are photos of the small tornado that briefly affected the Crescent Hill region of Louisville. They were taken by John Fogel, Jr. of Clarksville. The lower small photo(sorry I couldn’t make it bigger) shows a very small rope like funnel cloud. The photo above is less distinct but you can see it as it retreats. The parent storm is racing NE and the funnel is trailing behind as it ascends.
There were 44 tornado warnings for 19 counties. 10 counties had multiple warnings with Breckenridge leading the way with 7 warnings. Perry had 5 warnings and Meade and Breckenridge had 4 each. Six others had 2 or more.
So far, tornadoes have been confirmed in Jefferson(KY), Perry, Breckenridge, Meade, Bullitt and Clark counties. The one if Louisville was an EF-0 with winds of just 65 to 85 mph. The others were either EF-1 or EF-2 with the former generally around 107 mph and the latter between 120 and 135 mph. The one in Clark county near New Washington was initially set as an EF-2. However, after the assessment team from the NWS saw our video from our helicopter and after receiving other information, they are holding off making a final determination until after further examination of the damage. Clearly visible from the chopper one can see a path cut in the ground and they found the path was much longer than the original assessment had found. Often in rural areas, its very difficult to ascertain a complete picture from the ground, especially in areas without trees or buildings.
On Thursday night, there were multiple super cells. Each one was rotating, some of them quite violently. Any storm in that environment exhibiting such characteristics have the potential to do one of three things: Create gusty winds, draw down damaging winds or draw down a tornado. In at least 20 cases there was wind damage. In at least 6 instances, tornadoes touched down. It was unfortunate for those who suffered damage to their homes and businesses, but we in the larger population centers were lucky they didn’t strike. Had the tornado that touched down in Clark County been about 20 miles farther southeast, Louisville would have suffered some serious damage or worse.
The NWS has to make a determination whether to issue a warning and what type. Had they not issued warnings for the super-cellular storms and they caused damage or spawned tornadoes, there would be outrage. They have the technology to determine potentially dangerous situations and they would be remiss in their duties if they did not exercise their duty.
We in the Advanced Warning Weather Center have the technology and expertise to do exactly what our title suggests: give you advanced warning. If we simply ran a crawl, which is never the same as showing exactly where storm is, when we have the ability to do so, we would be remiss in our responsibility. We can show exactly where a storm is, down to the street level. If we did not use that ability and do our best to serve everyone in need, then having the technology and people who know how to use it would be moot. Our policy is to be on the air whenever there is a tornado warning in our area and will stay with it until the warning expires. We feel like that, no matter where you live, in a small town or large, each individual deserves the same respect and consideration. If you did not get damage or strong winds, be thankful.
There were 6 confirmed tornadoes. The assessments are still being done and there potentially could be a few more. The lack of damage was not because it was not dangerous or the warnings were not warranted, it was simply the luck of the draw and the stronger tornadoes were in relatively sparsely populated areas. We know that we may not be so lucky next time and some people this time were not as fortunate as others. While I am not the policymaker, I am confident that our policy of respecting the concerns of those in potential peril and using every resource at our disposal in their aid, I suspect, will not change. If a tornadic thunderstorm is coming down your street, I’m sure you wouldn’t want it any other way.
Here is the latest summary of tornado assessments from the NWS. click on the county of your choice for the details. The second link is the general site for the local NWS office.
