Absolute Vorticity

Good morning folks! Please pray for the people of Mayfield, KY where the Courthouse got hit and that Candle Factory where workers were present when the tornado hit and collapsed the roof. Per Gov Beshear, 75-100 people could be dead from this event. Easily the worst tornado to ever hit KY and what makes it even more historical is the time of year. That monster tornado stayed on the ground through 4 states. I believe it stayed on the ground for 200 maybe 250 miles before lifting! That is just incredible! If the track is confirmed it would be the longest tracked tornado in US history beating out the 1925 Tristate tornado. See the comparison below of the unofficial track of this one vs 1925. Thanks to James Spann for the image.


Locally, there were some TOR warnings in our S counties of KY and some wind damage reports and some flooding as well where 2"+ of rain occurred. Obviously, that pales in comparison to the above. CVG picked up 0.46" and I got 0.44" We've got one more line coming thru with the cold front this morning then we're done minus falling temps and winds to 40 mph in gusts the rest of the day. 50 mph gusts for the I-70 Crew where the wind advisory is in effect. Than we can kiss this system good-bye and good riddance.

0.99” storm total for me. Would not surprise me if Mayfield got an EF5 rating but most definitely a 4.

I was following Reed Timmer , he knew this was going to be epic and he left early yesterday to chase. He was on one of the first ones to touch down in Arkansas and then up into Tenn. you could tell his enthusiasm was higher then normal as he was driving to the area yesterday. It will be a while till they figure everything out from last night and what they could have done different for the future.

Video from Mayfield - looks like scenes from Joplin or Greensburg

cloudy72 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:57 am 0.99” storm total for me. Would not surprise me if Mayfield got an EF5 rating but most definitely a 4.

Dont know about Mayfield but I am looking at live chopper coverage from more south and over by St.Louis area. to me it looks like strong F3 or low end F4 damage. there was an Amazon warehouse ripped right in half

Prayers for those that were in the path of this large tornado. Quiet here at the moment trees are barely moving.

Line coming through here now has some power - prob 40-50 mph gusts at least

cloudy72 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 9:22 am Video from Mayfield - looks like scenes from Joplin or Greensburg

That place is destroyed.

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cloudy72 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:57 am 0.99” storm total for me. Would not surprise me if Mayfield got an EF5 rating but most definitely a 4.

Totally agree Mike!

Wind has been pretty gusty already this morning here even before the line comes thru. Currently sitting at 63 imby. I maxed out at 65 overnight around 4am.

More Twitter radar images of this historic tornado

cloudy72 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 9:22 am Video from Mayfield - looks like scenes from Joplin or Greensburg

Not surprised, watched it live on stream as it went into the town.

NWS LOU is conducting a storm damage survey in Bowling Green. They are saying prelim of an EF2 there. Going to be many surveys over the next few days for sure. For Mayfield, I am with Mike. EF4 if not an EF5. That town is almost completely leveled. Also saw some pics out of Morton's Gap, KY with the same sort of thing there.

Struggling to put this in words for many reasons. What an absolute tragedy. Well-forecasted event, yet the death toll is through the roof. Awful stuff, folks.

James Spann has said it on numerous occasions — when you’re dealing with a particularly violent tornado, not much hope unless you’re underground.

I heard on TWC this morning that a CSX train was blown off a track in or near Madisonville, KY.

tron777 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:30 am Good morning folks! Please pray for the people of Mayfield, KY where the Courthouse got hit and that Candle Factory where workers were present when the tornado hit and collapsed the roof. Per Gov Beshear, 75-100 people could be dead from this event. Easily the worst tornado to ever hit KY and what makes it even more historical is the time of year. That monster tornado stayed on the ground through 4 states. I believe it stayed on the ground for 200 maybe 250 miles before lifting! That is just incredible! If the track is confirmed it would be the longest tracked tornado in US history beating out the 1925 Tristate tornado. See the comparison below of the unofficial track of this one vs 1925. Thanks to James Spann for the image.


TOR Track.jpg


Locally, there were some TOR warnings in our S counties of KY and some wind damage reports and some flooding as well where 2"+ of rain occurred. Obviously, that pales in comparison to the above. CVG picked up 0.46" and I got 0.44" We've got one more line coming thru with the cold front this morning then we're done minus falling temps and winds to 40 mph in gusts the rest of the day. 50 mph gusts for the I-70 Crew where the wind advisory is in effect. Than we can kiss this system good-bye and good riddance.

Hi Les,

Re the Great 1925 Tri-state Tornado, my (late) maternal grandmother grew up on a farm in Fort Branch, IN with her 3 brothers and a sister. On at least one occasion she told me about that storm event and how the sky was as black as night. Thankfully she and her family's farm and house was unscathed. That tornado finally lifted and dissipated in or near Princeton, IN, where my grandmother lived during most of her adulthood. I believe that storm had done some damage in Princeton, as I had read some reports about that in the past on microfilm and subsequently online.

Its impossible at this early stage to say this. It will be days at least , to determine if it was one contiinuous or multiple tornadoes. Same supercell maybe but IMO unlikely to be one continuous tornado. Im guessing here , but so are these reports that say otherwise

1619 58 KI23 WASHINGTON CH APT FAYETTE OH 3957 8342 (ILN)

1703 59 KVTA NEWARK-HEATH APT LICKING OH 4002 8246 (ILN)

0636 UNK 4 NNW BRIGHT DEARBORN IN 3927 8488 SEVERAL TREES REPORTED DOWN ACROSS ROADWAY WEST OF HARRISON ... OHIO AND EAST OF ST. LEON ... INDIANA. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR DATA. (ILN)

0654 UNK RISING SUN OHIO IN 3895 8486 SEVERAL TREES DOWN ACROSS RISING SUN AREA. (ILN)

0806 UNK 2 S ADA HARDIN OH 4073 8382 ROOF BLOWN OFF AND HALF A BUILDING COLLAPSED. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. (ILN)

0808 UNK 2 S ADA HARDIN OH 4073 8382 TWO STRUCTURES DAMAGED. TREES ALSO DAMAGED IN THE AREA. POSSIBLE TORNADO. (ILN)

0901 UNK 2 SSE CAMBRIDGE CITY WAYNE IN 3979 8516 MULTIPLE TREES DOWN IN MILTON. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. (ILN)

0918 UNK N CONNERSVILLE FAYETTE IN 3966 8514 SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN CONNERSVILLE. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. (ILN)

0918 UNK 2 W NEW MADISON DARKE OH 3997 8474 SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN SOUTHWEST DARKE COUNTY. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. (ILN)

0937 UNK 3 SE KINCAID SPRINGS PIKE OH 3907 8322 DOWNED TREES ON BEAVERS RIDGE RD. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. (ILN)

0948 UNK WNW EATON PREBLE OH 3975 8464 SEVERAL TREES DOWN IN EATON. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. (ILN)

0950 UNK 5 ENE LEWISBURG MONTGOMERY OH 3989 8446 SEVERAL TREES REPORTED DOWN IN NORTHWEST MONTGOMERY COUNTY. TIME ESTIMATED USING RADAR DATA. (ILN)

0953 UNK E DE GRAFF LOGAN OH 4031 8391 TWO TREES KNOCKED DOWN IN DE GRAFF. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. (ILN)

0954 UNK 3 WNW TIPP CITY MIAMI OH 3997 8423 SEVERAL TREES KNOCKED DOWN AT OH-571 AND PETERS RD. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. (ILN)

Dawson Springs KY - prob from the Mayfield wedge. Very sad to see!

watching a lot of the drone footage. its a real shame this happened at night. there would have been so many great videos from this.

Thankfully, the system has lost much of its 'punch' as it chugs on toward Charles, my sister / her family in NC, friends in NC / SC, and extended family in VA.