The lawsuit alleges that the factory had up to three and a half hours to let workers leave as safety precautions and did not, and the company showed a "flagrant indifference to the rights of workers" and violated the Kentucky occupational safety and health workplace standards, by refusing evacuations. Some outbuildings were also damaged or destroyed in this area. Amazon said emergency safety training in case of tornadoes is given to new employees and repeated throughout the year. Submit a Storm Report, CURRENT CONDITIONS Several outbuildings and mobile homes were also obliterated in the Cayce area. Structures destroyed or uninhabitable:356, Lyon County, KY: The tornado received a maximum rating of EF2 in Stewart County, and 4 people were injured. [61] The tornado destroyed primarily low-income rental housing units, leading to a depleted stock of affordable housing in the city; the Mayfield Housing Authority reported that it had more than 700 requests for one-bedroom units almost a year after the tornado. Many family residence homes experienced loss of significant roof covering material, collapsed chimneys and garage doors, and walls completely folded with broken windows and shattered glass. Injuries: 200 to 225 In southern Illinois, in Edwardsville, an Amazon distribution warehouse was hit by a tornado, causing massive damage to the facility, officials said. Injuries: 5 Around 10:55 p.m. the tornado left Hopkins County and entered Muhlenberg County, reaching the small community of Bremen at 11:00 p.m. Several homes experienced catastrophic EF-4 damage here. (NWS Storm Survey). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Paducah officealso saidan aerial assessment of damage appearedto show an "historic long track tornado" that was at least three-quarters of a mile wide in Kentucky as it went from southwest of Cayce in Fulton County to at least Beaver Dam in Ohio County. Many family residence homes experienced. [26][56] Damage of up to high-end EF2 intensity occurred beyond this point as the tornado crossed Humble Valley Road, Halls Creek Road, and Mount Vernon Road before passing north of Olaton. The tornado moved into Hickman County and appeared to intensify dramatically as it crossed US 51, where extreme ground scouring occurred in nearby fields. [12], Doppler radar analysis estimated that the supercell maintained a nearly continuous high-end rotational vorticity signature, averaging at 94mph (151km/h; 82kn) for approximately four hours and 20 minutes, among a rarity of thunderstorms (averaging 1.5% of all supercells) that produce mesocyclonic vorticity exceeding such speeds. Continuing into northern Muhlenberg County, yet another tornado emergency was issued for the community of Bremen as the tornado approached from the southwest. At 3:00p.m. CST (21:00UTC), the SPC issued a tornado watch across the highest risk area (encompassing central and eastern Arkansas, west Tennessee, northwestern Mississippi, southeastern Missouri, and southern portions of Illinois and Indiana), the first of eleven issued over subsequent hours over the middle Mississippi Valley. [44] Numerous vehicles were thrown into piles in the parking lot of the complex. The tornado produced those 57 fatalities in multiple locations along its extended damage path, killing 24 people in Graves County (which also saw more than 200 of the total injuries), 15 in Hopkins County, 11 in Muhlenberg County, 4 in Caldwell County, and 1 person each in Fulton, Marshall, and Lyon counties. Chris Phillips/Maverick Media Group, LLC via Reuters. A tornado near Hornersville, Missouri, was on the ground at about 8 p.m. local time. Aviation Weather It abruptly intensified to high-end EF4 strength as it crossed and paralleled KY 175 through the north side of town. See photos of the tornado damage across the state. Michael Dossett, director of Kentucky's Division of Emergency Management, compared the storms to the April 1974 outbreak that spawned hundreds of tornadoes across several states and killed more than 30 in Kentucky alone. [33] Several other industrial businesses were also damaged or destroyed near the candle factory, while semi-trucks and other industrial vehicles were thrown and destroyed as well, some of which were left unrecognizable. family brick home near Bear Creek where it took off the roof and top story. (Chris Conley/270 Drones Aerial Imagery), Tornado devastation in Bremen on December 13, 2021. Observed Precipitation, RADAR [27] However, no structures were impacted near US 51, and no rating was applied to the intense scouring. The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories: Tornado devastation in Mayfield on December 11, 2021. [36] Several restaurants, an indoor soccer facility, a barber shop, automotive business, gym, bank, movie theatre, health and rehab center, and many other businesses were destroyed in downtown Mayfield. It should have shut down':Inside the final frantic hours of the Mayfield candle factory. of Oklahoma), Regional radar loop across the Lower Ohio and Lower Mississippi River valleys from 6 PM Dec. 10 to 8 AM Dec. 11. Perhaps relevant to the deadly toll in the Kentucky event, tornado frequency is increasing in winter months, . Our Office The tornado struck a well constructed single Deaths: 24 The tornado passed closest to Princeton around 10:21 p.m. Just south of the city, the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center experienced severe structural damage. AFTER (right): this image shows the damage to homes and buildings after the tornado in Mayfield, Ky. on Dec. 11, 2021. One person was receiving medical treatment, he added, with the effort shifting to a search and recovery mission. The tornado then crossed into Todd County where mostly tree damage and damage to farm/outbuildings were observed. [1] Crossing through eleven counties of the Jackson Purchase and Western Coal Field regions during its lifespan, the tornado was exceptionally long-tracked, traveling 165.6 miles (266.5km) while at times becoming wrapped in rain. Many trees continued to be denuded and debarked. Bowling Green and Mayfield, Ky., sustained damage after tornadoes ripped through five U.S. states overnight, on Dec. 11, 2021. A fourth tornado emergency was in effect for Dawson Springs and St. Charles as the storm moved through the area. Storm and Precipitation Reports NWS Paducah Lead Meteorologist Chris Noles did an in-depth interview with ABC News on its Good Morning America program about the tornado outbreak. . (NOAA/NASA), Before and after satellite imagery of the Cambridge Shores community on Kentucky Lake in Marshall County. Hazardous Weather Support Ohio, Breckenridge, and Grayson County, KY: At 5:51p.m. CST, the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock issued the first tornado warning associated with the storm for portions of Jackson, Lawrence, White, and Woodruff counties. Deaths: 4 The tornado produced EF-4 damage in Cayce, including the total destruction of buildings and complete collapse of the walls in family homes. Andy Beshear told reporters the death. (NWS Storm Survey). [20] The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a total of 149 tornado warnings throughout the night across portions of nine states including Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana. [7] Initial storms developed across central Arkansas around 2:00p.m. CST (20:00UTC), with even weaker activity developing over central Missouri a little over .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}1+12 hours later; additional clusters of thunderstorms developed over southwestern Missouri (forming between Bolivar and Carthage, eventually back-building into northeastern Oklahoma) and central Arkansas (forming southwest of Hot Springs) between 5:00 and 5:30p.m. CST (23:0023:30UTC). Some logistics facilities and warehouses were leveled in an industrial park as the tornado exited town, and several metal self-storage unit buildings and large garages were obliterated nearby. Over 70 feared dead as 22 reported tornadoes rip through South, Midwest Kentucky likely saw its deadliest tornado system ever, the governor said. The tornado was the deadliest in U.S. history to occur in the month of December. (Chris Conley/270 Drones Aerial Imagery). (Chris Conley), Complete destruction of a home near Bremen. Drone footage from storm chaser Brandon Clement shows the devastation left by a powerful storm in Mayfield, Kentucky. The First Christian Church sustained collapse of its domed roof and upper walls, while the First United Methodist Church's sanctuary, which was constructed with very thick masonry exterior walls, collapsed. The most severe damage in Caldwell County occurred as the tornado passed just south of Princeton. GUNNAR WORD/AFP via Getty Images A resident of the The Cardinal Inn in Bowling Green, Kentucky, looks at the damage after a tornado touched down on December 11, 2021. A CSX freight line train was derailed as the tornado struck Barnsley, and 25 multi-ton freight cars were derailed, several of which were thrown from the tracks, including one that was tossed into a house. Still producing violent EF-4 damage, numerous homes and pieces of infrastructure suffered catastrophic damage. Forest destruction in the Land Between the Lake NRA. All rights reserved. [51] Thousands of large trees were mowed down, and vehicles were flipped. [67], Disaster relief and humanitarian groups such as the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and World Vision collected donations and provided aid after the tornado. J. (Tomer Burg/Univ. More:Here's how the National Weather Service decides a tornado's rating, For the category of the biggest tornado, the National Weather Service office in PaducahtweetedSaturday it would likely "take some time to make a determination on intensity / rating.". "This has been one of the toughest nights in Kentucky history,and some areas have been hit in ways that are hard to put into words," Beshear said. President Joe Biden approved the emergency declaration, which applies to 15 impacted counties, Saturday afternoon. EF4 damage continued near the Mayfield Bypass (US 45 Bypass), where Mayfield Consumer Products, a candle factory where approximately 110 employees were working, was flattened. Mon 13 Dec 2021 05.26 EST Last modified on Mon 13 Dec 2021 07.51 EST. [52][53] A total of 11 people were killed in and around Bremen, and others were injured. [16][17] By the pre-dawn hours of December11, a decrease in instability led to a gradual weakening of a line of thunderstorms stretching along the associated cold front from eastern Kentucky southward into central Alabama. Tornado devastation in Dawson Springs on December 13, 2021. Injuries: 54 [26][56] The path was the ninth longest in recorded history. The tornado finally weakened and dissipated near the Falls of Rough in Grayson County at 11:55 p.m. (Photo from @MeanMotionMedia ) shows a possible second vortex to the left", "This is looking SSW just as the tornado was entering Dawson Springs. Five large chicken houses were destroyed, and hundreds of large hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted along a quarter-mile wide swath along this section of the path. As the tornado approached Interstate 24, mostly tree damage was observed with a few structures impacted as well. [22][23], Effects from the system responsible for the outbreak extended into Canada, where the Meteorological Service of Canada issued wind and heavy rainfall warnings for portions of Ontario. A state of emergency has been declared by Kentucky Gov. [60], On December 11, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency for parts of western Kentucky, followed that same day by President Joe Biden's approval of a federal emergency disaster declaration for the state of Kentucky. South of Earlington, the tornado derailed a train, moving several rail cars several feet up an embankment next to the railroad tracks. Numerous homes were completely leveled in Cambridge Shores, including multiple large lakeside homes that were flattened or swept away. Passing near the MuhlenbergMcLean county line, the tornado weakened substantially as it crossed into Ohio County at 11:10p.m. (05:10 UTC), producing EF1 damage as it traversed rugged, hilly terrain to the west of Centertown. 1159 damaged and 730destroyed Map of storm reports and warning polygons, (red=Tornado Warning, yellow=Severe Tstm Warning), Convoy of Hope in Lyon County (Lyon County EMA), Rebuilding homes in Lyon County (Lyon County EMA), Delivering new appliances to tornado victims in Lyon County (Lyon County EMA). Serving Madisonville and Hopkins County, KY. Paducah, KY8250 Kentucky Highway 3520West Paducah, KY 42086-9762270-744-6440Comments? Two other buildings were also heavily damaged along with multiple silos destroyed. It crossed US 231, I-165, and KY 69 near Hartford, along with the Rough River twice. William Widmer for The New York Times. The tornado paralleled the OhioGrayson county line, and very briefly crossed a bend in the Rough River into Grayson County. (Chris Conley), Destroyed neighborhood near the city park in Dawson Springs. Click to enlarge. As it moved through forested areas, it uprooted thousands of trees. ", During a press briefing Saturday, Biden said this was likely "one of the largest tornado outbreaks in our history. Click here for an interactive radar loop for the entire event. Those numbers "could rise significantly," he said Saturday afternoon. South of Earlington, the tornado derailed a train, moving several rail cars several feet up an embankment next to the railroad tracks. Many homes were destroyed along this portion of the path, including several that were obliterated and completely swept away, with little debris remaining. On the evening of Friday, December 10, 2021, a potent storm system moving across the central United States resulted in widespread severe weather across the region, including a significant long track tornadoes.