The National Weather Service at Paducah has confirmed two tornadoes in the Pennyrile region during storms that hit Friday evening — one south of Hopkinsville and the other north of Elkton.
An EF2 tornado started at 6:42 p.m. along Shaw Oval Road in northeastern Christian County, causing minor damage to a couple of homes. It continued east, crossed Kentucky 189 and lifted west of Kentucky 181.
“The worst damage occurred along Blue Hole Road where several chicken houses were completely destroyed and a mobile home was swept away. Dozens of trees were snapped or uprooted and a few outbuildings were damaged,” officials wrote after a NWS team surveyed the damages.
The tornado traveled 6 miles with a maximum width of 200 yards and peak wind speed of 120 mph.
Another EF2 tornado touched down at 9:26 p.m. just north of Newstead on Kentucky 164, where it damaged a house and barns.
“It continued east uprooting or snapping dozens of trees along its path. Many homes experienced mainly roof damage along River Bend Road and Westminster Place,” the report states.
The tornado went through Sheffield Downs subdivision and then crossed Fort Campbell Boulevard.
“Some damage to a house and outbuildings occurred along Harry Berry Lane before the tornado lifted just east of [Bradshaw Road],” the report states.
The tornado traveled 10.1 miles with a maximum width of 225 yards and peak winds of 118 mph.
No injuries resulting from the storms were reported in the southern Pennyrile region.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
