June 18, 2026 -- Tornado near Williamstown, KY

Public Information Statement...UPDATED
National Weather Service Wilmington OH
133 PM EDT Wed Jun 24 2026

...NWS Damage Survey for 06/18/2026 Tornado Event...

.Update...

Based on additional damage that was assessed using aerial 
imagery, the National Weather Service has extended the tornado 
track farther west from the original starting point. The path 
width was also increased, but the EF1 rating with maximum winds of 
95 mph remains the same.

.N Williamstown KY...

Rating:                 EF1
Estimated Peak Wind:    95 mph
Path Length /statute/:  6.6 miles
Path Width /maximum/:   150 yards
Fatalities:             0
Injuries:               0

Start Date:             06/18/2026
Start Time:             04:16 AM EDT
Start Location:         4 SW Dry Ridge / Grant County / KY
Start Lat/Lon:          38.6515 / -84.6613

End Date:               06/18/2026
End Time:               04:22 AM EDT
End Location:           1 NNE Williamstown / Grant County / KY
End Lat/Lon:            38.6536 / -84.5430

Survey Summary:
The first evidence of tornadic damage occurred on a property just
east of Clarks Creek where several trees were uprooted or 
snapped. The tornado would continue east towards Baton Rouge Rd, 
where several more hardwood trees had large branches broken off, 
with tree debris thrown onto both sides of the road. Additionally,
a barn was completely destroyed in the same area. Sporadic tree 
damage would continue along Baton Rouge Rd, eventually leading to 
another barn where the walls completely collapsed and the roof 
blown off. The damage to these outbuildings was consistent with 
EF1 damage, with maximum winds around 90 mph. Just a bit farther 
down the road, another outbuilding had its sheet metal roof 
completely ripped off, with pieces of sheet metal thrown ~50 yards
into the nearby field. Some of the siding was also peeled off. 

The damage path would continue along portions of Baton Rouge Rd, 
with extensive tree damage noted leading up to the intersection of
I-75. Most of the tree damage was primarily large branches that 
were broken off, but there was one hardwood tree that was 
uprooted. Just east of I-75, additional tree damage occurred, 
including some wooden power poles that were snapped. 

The area of most concentrated damage would occur in several 
neighborhoods just east of US-25. On Ridgelea Dr, there were 
multiple large, healthy trees that were uprooted and/or snapped at
the base. On Humes Ridge Rd, more large trees and wooden power 
poles were snapped. The most significant damage occurred near the 
end of the tornadic path on Waterworks Rd, where a standalone, 
multi-car garage had the majority of its roof ripped off. Multiple
sections of the garage observed a significant loss of its 
cinder block exterior walls, including some minor damage to the 
interior walls between car ports. Debris from the garage was 
spread out into the nearby field. Given the structural integrity 
of the garage, it is expected that wind speeds up to 95 mph were 
observed in this part of the tornado track, which is consistent 
with EF1 damage. Finally, some minor tree damage was observed in 
the field just off to the east before the tornado lifted. 

The National Weather Service office would like to thank Grant 
County Emergency Management Agency, State of Kentucky Emergency 
Management, and the Williamstown Fire Department for their 
assistance with this damage survey. 

&&

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

EF0.....65 to 85 mph
EF1.....86 to 110 mph
EF2.....111 to 135 mph
EF3.....136 to 165 mph
EF4.....166 to 200 mph
EF5.....>200 mph

NOTE:
The information in this statement is preliminary and subject to
change pending final review of the event and publication in
NWS Storm Data.


$$

AR/LC