Louisville, KY

Weather Forecast Office

EF-1 Tornado and Wind Damage May 20th, 2017

Overview

Line of storms moved in from the west on Saturday, May 20th, 2017.

Tornado
Wind
Photos & Video
Radar
Storm Reports

Tornadoes:

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Path: Points:

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Tornado - LOCATION
Jefferson County Indiana

Date	5/20/2017
Time (Local)	710 PM EDT
EF Rating	EF-1
Est. Peak Winds	90 MPH
Path Length	0.2 Miles
Max Width	30 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: A small tornado touched down just north of West Galway Trail N in a tree line behind some houses. The tornado uprooted and snapped trees as it moved east. An eyewitness reported seeing a black mass with debris moving horizontally. The tornado covered his house in fallen trees. As it crossed Paper Mill Road, the inflow winds into the tornado pulled off siding from nearby houses and moved light objects several hundred feet. A camper parked on the southern edge of the path rolled three times toward the center of circulation and was destroyed. After crossing the road it struck an abandoned farm house and did more tree damage. There was no more evidence of damage after the tornado passed east of the farmhouse.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:

EF0 Weak 65-85 mph	EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph	EF2 Significant 111-135 mph	EF3 Severe 136-165 mph	EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph	EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph

Wind & Hail:

Straight Line Wind - LOCATION
Spencer County Kentucky

Date	05/20/2017
Time (Local)	718 PM EDT
Est. Peak Winds	85 MPH
Path Length	0.6 Miles
Max Width	50 Yards
Injuries/Deaths	0
Summary: The National Weather Service in conjunction with Spencer County Emergency Management conducted a damage survey near Highway 44 and Carl Monroe Road 2 to 3 miles west of Taylorsville. The survey found a narrow path of straight line wind damage with estimated winds between 75 and 85 MPH. The most significant damage occurred at the path start on Carl Monroe Road where the second level of a cinder block farm building was removed. Roofing material and cinder block debris was scattered to the ENE 100-200 yards downwind. A two-story home also suffered damage in this area with the removal of siding, soffit, and shingles. Debris shattered a window, and a dead-bolted door was blown open after the storm door was ripped off. Several large limbs were ripped out of a tree and tossed across Carl Monroe Road. Wind damage continued east while paralleling just south of Highway 44 where 3 more hardwood trees were broken or uprooted. Several large hardwood trees were uprooted in the Elk Creek Bottom. Continuing east, wind took shingles off of a home and damaged several trees. Damage ceased 2 miles west of Taylorsville with a final downed tree along Highway 44. The event lasted 1 to 2 minutes and occurred on the leading edge of a gust front. Many residents noted that no rain was occurring at the time of the event, bur rain started a few minutes later. This matches the radar presentation. All debris was scattered in a divergent ENE to NE direction.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

Wind


TSDF Reflectivity Image 2307Z	TSDF Reflectivity Image 2312Z	TSDF Reflectivity Image 2317Z	TSDF Reflectivity Image 2321Z


TSDF Velocity Image 2307Z	TSDF Velocity Image 2312Z	TSDF Velocity Image 2317Z	TSDF Velocity Image 2321Z

Photos & Video:

More pictures may be added. Let us know if you have any!


Near State Road 7 north of Madison, IN, close to the point where a tornado touched down (courtesy of Madison 5 Fire Dept.)	Near the River Pointe Mall in Madison (courtesy of Madison 5 Fire Dept.)

Radar:


Storm-Relative Motion (SRM) from the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) for Cincinnati Airport at 7:09 PM EDT	SRM from the TDWR for Louisville Airport at 7:09 PM EDT	Reflectivity from the TDWR for Cincinnati Airport at 7:09 PM EDT	SRM from the Fort Knox radar at 7:07 PM EDT

Storm Reports

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
508 AM EDT SUN MAY 21 2017

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0452 PM     HAIL             TELL CITY               37.95N 86.76W
05/20/2017  E0.50 INCH       PERRY              IN   AMATEUR RADIO



0505 PM     HAIL             BEECHWOOD               38.20N 86.42W
05/20/2017  E0.88 INCH       CRAWFORD           IN   TRAINED SPOTTER



0505 PM     HAIL             1 NW LEAVENWORTH        38.21N 86.36W
05/20/2017  E1.00 INCH       CRAWFORD           IN   CO-OP OBSERVER



0509 PM     HAIL             1 E LEAVENWORTH         38.20N 86.32W
05/20/2017  E1.00 INCH       CRAWFORD           IN   AMATEUR RADIO



0513 PM     HAIL             2 SE PILOT KNOB         38.26N 86.33W
05/20/2017  M1.00 INCH       CRAWFORD           IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SPOTTER ALSO SAW A BRIEF FUNNEL CLOUD 1.5
            NORTHEAST OF CAREFREE BUT IT DIDN`T DROP
            DOWN MUCH.

0520 PM     HAIL             MORGANTOWN              37.22N 86.70W
05/20/2017  M0.75 INCH       BUTLER             KY   TRAINED SPOTTER

            NUMEROUS REPORTS OF DIME-SIZED HAIL BEING
            SENT IN.

0525 PM     TSTM WND GST     WOODBURY                37.18N 86.64W
05/20/2017  M50 MPH          BUTLER             KY   MESONET

            BUTLER COUNTY KY MESONET SITE.

0535 PM     TSTM WND DMG     ROUNDHILL               37.24N 86.45W
05/20/2017                   BUTLER             KY   PUBLIC

            TWITTER PICTURE OF A LARGE LIMB BLOWN IN TO
            THE REAR WINDOW OF A CAR.

0540 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 4 SW WINDYVILLE         37.19N 86.39W
05/20/2017  M53 MPH          EDMONSON           KY   TRAINED SPOTTER

            WIND GUST FROM OUTFLOW AHEAD OF
            THUNDERSTORMS.

0600 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 SSW MEREDITH          37.39N 86.24W
05/20/2017                   GRAYSON            KY   TRAINED SPOTTER

            10 INCH DIAMETER TREE LIMB SNAPPED.

0607 PM     HAIL             2 N NEW ALBANY          38.33N 85.82W
05/20/2017  E0.88 INCH       FLOYD              IN   PUBLIC

            FALLING ON I-265 IN NEW ALBANY.

0615 PM     TSTM WND DMG     SELLERSBURG             38.40N 85.75W
05/20/2017                   CLARK              IN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            TREE BLOCKING A ROADWAY.

0622 PM     HAIL             2 WNW CLARKSVILLE       38.33N 85.80W
05/20/2017  E0.75 INCH       FLOYD              IN   PUBLIC

            DIME SIZE HAIL ON CHARLESTOWN ROAD.

0635 PM     HAIL             3 N CHARLESTOWN         38.49N 85.67W
05/20/2017  M1.25 INCH       CLARK              IN   COCORAHS

            AVERAGE SIZE NICKELS, BUT HAD MAX SIZE OF
            HALF-DOLLARS.

0706 PM     TSTM WND GST     3 SSW WIRT              38.76N 85.46W
05/20/2017  M61 MPH          JEFFERSON          IN   AWOS

            MEASURED AT MADISON AIRPORT.

0709 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 ESE WIRT              38.80N 85.44W
05/20/2017                   JEFFERSON          IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TREES AND POWER LINES DOWN ON SR 7 NEAR
            DAWSON SMITH ROAD.

0711 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 WNW NORTH MADISON     38.77N 85.41W
05/20/2017                   JEFFERSON          IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            DAMAGE TO THE AWNING OVER A FUEL STATION.

0712 PM     TSTM WND DMG     1 NE NORTH MADISON      38.78N 85.39W
05/20/2017                   JEFFERSON          IN   PUBLIC

            ROOF DAMAGE TO A BOWLING ALLEY.

0715 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 W TAYLORSVILLE        38.03N 85.39W
05/20/2017                   SPENCER            KY   EMERGENCY MNGR

            CINDER BLOCK BUILDING DAMAGED, 2 HOMES WITH
            ROOF DAMAGE, TREES DOWN.

0943 PM     TSTM WND DMG     2 SW COLVILLE           38.34N 84.24W
05/20/2017                   HARRISON           KY   EMERGENCY MNGR

            TREE ACROSS KY 1940 NEAR EALS LANE.

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