May 18, 1995 Tornadoes

Overview

Disclamer: Disregard the tornado ratings below. The F scale was used in this investigation instead of the EF scale.

Tornadoes:

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Disclamer: Disregard the EF ratings in the interactive map. The F scale was used instead of the EF scale.

Tornadoes:

Salvisa Tornado (Northern Track)
Mercer and Woodford Counties

Date	May 18, 1995
Time (Local)	7:19 am EDT
F Rating	F2
Est. Peak Winds	115 mph
Path Length	10 miles
Max Width	125 yards
Injuries/Deaths	8 injuries
Summary: The F2 tornado began in Mayo in Central Mercer County and produced consistent high F1 to low F2 tornado damage across Mercer and Southern Woodford Counties. The most significant damage was in Salvisa along US 127 with extensive barn and outbuilding destruction along with roof damage to homes and cars being blown off the highway. The tornado lifted in Nonesuch in Southern Woodford County. The tornado moved at 45 mph along a 10 mile track.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

Jessamine Tornado (Southern Track)
Mercer, Woodford, Jessamine, and Fayette Counties

Date	May 18, 1995
Time (Local)	7:20 am EDT
F Rating	F2
Est. Peak Winds	145 mph
Path Length	24 miles
Max Width	350 yards
Injuries/Deaths	30+ injuries
Summary: The tornado began as an F1 with wind speeds of 100mph about 0.5 miles northwest of McAfee with several homes having roof and chimney damage along with several barns sustaining heavy damage. The tornado blew several cars off of US 127 resulting in significant damage and several injuries. At the intersection of Hwy 1268 and 68, 7 horses were killed along with extensive barn damage. The tornado increased to a high end F2 with wind speeds of 145 mph when it struck the West Jessamine County High School. There was extensive structural damage done to all portions of the building, along with the total destruction of the tobacco barn and greenhouse for the agricultural program. 11 busses sustained significant damage with school children on the busses. At least 30 injuries occurred at the high school, one serious. The tornado hit a strip plaza and the Walmart on the north side of Nicholasville. There was significant roof and sign damage along the business district. The tornado weakened to an F1 of 100 mph in southwest Fayette County. The tornado moved at 55 mph over a 24 mile track.

Track Map

Downloadable KMZ File

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

F0 Gale 40-72 mph	F1 Weak 73-112 mph	F2 Strong 113-157 mph	F3 Severe 158-206 mph	F4 Devastating 207-260 mph	F5 Incredible 261+ mph

Photos & Video:

Header


Damage to bleachers on football field (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)	Damage to bleachers (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)	Extensive damage to tobacco barn (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)	Structural damage to school (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)

Damaged bleachers and debri (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)	Bleachers twisted and thrown (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)	Roof damage at West Jessamine High School (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)	Greenhouse destroyed (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)

Roof collapse at high school (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)	Extensive damage to school (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)	Damage to school (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)	More bleachers thrown and twisted (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)

Metal signs knocked over and twisted (courtesy of Jessamine Co. EMA)	Debri inside the high school (Sherry Reed)	Debri inside the high school (Sherry Reed)	Windows busted out (Sherry Reed)

Windows busted out all over the school (Sherry Reed)