Six tornadoes touched down in Kentucky in quick succession, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Five of the tornadoes were categorized as EF1 by the NWS on Jan. 12, indicating moderate damage. The sixth was categorized as EF0, which indicates light damage.
No injuries or deaths have been reported as a result of the tornadoes. Damages to power lines and farm shelters were reported, and some houses experienced light damage.
The first tornado touched down in Ballard County just after 2:00 a.m., with the Paducah NWS office listing Monkey’s Eyebrow as the specific location. It reached a speed of 95 mph and a width of 200 yards. The tornado lasted seven minutes, during which time it traveled 6.7 miles through McCracken County and across the Ohio River into Illinois.
The second touched down at 8:47 a.m., west of Pleasureville in Henry County. It lasted only two minutes, traveled 1.7 miles, and grew 100 yards wide, but reached a top speed of 110 mph. It destroyed one barn and structurally compromised another, with debris from the structures being found 100 yards east, according to the NWS report.
The third tornado formed at 9:00 a.m. near Harrodsburg in Mercer County. Within two minutes, it traveled 2.25 miles at a top speed of 100 mph, and grew 75 yards wide. This tornado destroyed another barn, caused sporadic tree damage, and caused roof and gutter damages to at least two Harrodsburg houses, according to NWS. It approached Kenneth D. King Middle School and flipped over two sets of bleachers before it lifted and dissipated, missing the school building.
“My neighbor actually called me and wanted to make sure that we weren’t home because she was concerned because we also have two small children,” Heather Long, a Mercer County resident, told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “We’ve completely lost everything inside our garage. We’re going to have to replace siding, we’re going to have to replace our roof, so it’s done quite a bit of damage.”
More than 5000 power outages were reported in Mercer County following the tornado, according to data at poweroutages.us.
At 9:10 a.m., a fourth tornado touched down near Danville in Boyle County. This one lasted one minute, creating a path 0.84 miles long at a top speed of 95 mph. It grew 125 yards wide. According to NWS, the extent of the damages were to surrounding trees, although some homes and barns experienced light damages to roofs and porches.
The fifth formed two miles northeast of Williamstown in Grant County, at 9:23 a.m, and lasted one minute. It traveled 0.3 miles with a maximum wind speed of 85 mph, and grew 50 yards wide. It was categorized at EF0, designating it as the least dangerous of the six.
This tornado was covered by the NWS office in Wilmington, Ohio, which also serves northern Kentucky.
The final tornado arrived in Richmond in Madison County at 9:42 a.m., and lasted three minutes. It grew 80 yards wide, traveled 1.2 miles, and its wind speeds peaked at 105 mph. It caused major damage to multiple farming structures, including a barn, a chicken coop, and a dog run. It also flipped a travel trailer on its side, according to NWS.