‘Multiple fatalities’ in Kentucky after tornado outbreak
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Tornadoes: Latest updates from ravaged Kentucky
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What was being called a tornado outbreak of historic proportions ripped through Western Kentucky late Friday and early Saturday morning, and while the full extent of the damage was not immediately known, at least 70 people are feared dead, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said..
The death toll in the “most severe tornado event in Kentucky’s history” may end up “exceeding 100 before the day is done,” Beshear said.
Beshear said earlier Saturday that four likely tornadoes wreaked havoc on the state with one tracked for more than 200 miles in Western Kentucky, “something we have never seen before.”
A candle factory in the Mayfield area with more than 100 people inside was particularly hit hard, and rescue efforts were under way. Dozens were killed, the governor said.
Tens of thousands of Kentuckians were without power Saturday morning, according to the website PowerOutage.us.
“This is a storm the likes of which we have never seen,” Beshear said at a 5 a.m. news conference.
He said four tornadoes had been reported, one of which traveled 227 miles.
The tornadoes were part of a weather event that touched multiple states.
In Arkansas, a tornado struck a nursing home, killing one person and trapping others inside, while the roof collapsed at an Amazon warehouse in Southern Illinois and the deaths of three people were caused by severe weather in Tennessee.
A tornado that was thought to have started in Arkansas barreled through Mayfield as it entered Kentucky, then continued through Eddyville, Princeton and Dawson Springs, said Lexington’s WKYT Meteorologist Chris Bailey.
As of about 12:45 a.m., the tornado was moving into Breckinridge County, which is just west of Elizabethtown.
“The signal for a tornado has been there for more than three hours,” Bailey said. “If confirmed to have been on the ground the entire time, it will be one of the longest track tornadoes in history.”
Later, reports came in of tornado activity in Bowling Green and other areas.
Beshear’s office announced at about 1 a.m. Saturday that he was declaring a state of emergency ”based on major damage in multiple Western Kentucky counties.”
He activated the Kentucky National Guard and the Kentucky State Police and planned to hold a briefing at 5 a.m. Saturday to provide an update on the damage.
Kentucky State Police issued a news release just after 12:30 a.m., saying Post 1 was “responding to a severe tornado event that spreads across multiple counties across Western Kentucky.”
“There is significant damage reported. While no fatalities have been confirmed at this time, loss of life is expected,” state police said. “Multiple agencies from across the purchase area are responding.”
The National Weather Service in Paducah said it had “taken a power hit” and was turning operations over to the office in Springfield, Mo.
“TORNADO EMERGENCY FOR THE CITY OF BENTON. A VIOLENT TORNADO IS MOVING INTO THE CITY OF BENTON IN MARSHALL COUNTY. TAKE SHELTER NOW!” the National Weather Service in Paducah said in a social media post at about 10:45 p.m.
“Benton, Briensburg, and Grand Rivers are in the path of this storm!” the weather service said in another post.
Minutes before, the weather service had warned of a violent tornado entering Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in Graves County.
”This image makes reminds me of March 2, 2012,” Bailey tweeted. “Mayfield was just hit by a devastating tornado and this thing is still intensifying.”
Mar. 2, 2012 was the day of a deadly tornado outbreak produced eight tornadoes and resulted in more than 20 deaths.
“Please keep western Kentucky in your prayers,” Stephanie Hart tweeted. “My in-laws house is destroyed and I can’t get to my house. Mayfield has been flattened and one of my employees lost everything she had tonight. This is the worst tornado I’ve lived through. God help us in the coming days.”
Jack Brammer, the Herald-Leader’s Frankfort bureau chief, contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 11:05 PM.
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