Tornado damages Central Kentucky railroad warehouse, NWS says
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- NWS confirmed an EF-1 tornado struck west Nicholasville, damaging an RJ Corman warehouse.
- Cold air funnel evolved into a 90 mph EF-1, uprooting trees and breaching walls.
- No injuries reported; outages were brief, HVAC units displaced and one structure damaged.
An EF-1 tornado damaged an RJ Corman Railroad warehouse Sunday in Nicholasville, said National Weather Service officials.
The tornado touched down just after noon on Big Tunnel Road near Jessamine Creek. The NWS said it started as a cold-air funnel before developing into a tornado that reached estimated maximum wind speeds of 90 mph.
Cold-air funnels form beneath weak thunderstorms when the air above the ground level is especially cold. The NWS said a strong cold front moved through the atmosphere in Central Kentucky on Sunday morning, and the difference between the ground and atmosphere temperatures, plus strong wind and showers, allowed a cold-air funnel to form.
Cold-air funnels are usually harmless, but they can rarely touch down and cause tornadic damage, according to the NWS.
The cold-air funnel developed into an EF-1 tornado and uprooted trees before moving onto the RJ Corman property. The NWS said it blew out two garage doors at a warehouse and pulled away a portion of the warehouse wall from the building.
The tornado also displaced three HVAC units from the roof of the warehouse, according to the NWS. Pieces of insulation, wood planks and metal from the walls of the building were lifted to the rooftop.
No workers were at the warehouse when the tornado hit, and no injuries were reported, according to Jessamine County Emergency Management.
The tornado lifted off the ground shortly after crossing RJ Corman Drive, west of U.S. 27, The NWS estimated it had an estimated maximum width of 20 yards, traveled 0.65 miles and was on the ground for about one minute.
About 100 people were without power for less than an hour after the storm, according to emergency management. At least one other structure was damaged by a fallen tree.
EF-1 is the second-weakest tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale, which ranges from 0 to 5.
