Tornado

Weather officials have not determined whether a tornado touched down in Powell County during thunderstorms Saturday. Jim Maczko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson, said he has not visited the site yet and is waiting on more information from Powell County officials. “We’re still waiting on county emergency management (to say) if we need to come out and look at the site,” Maczko said. Two tornado touchdowns were confirmed in Wolfe and Menifee counties late Saturday afternoon, including one in the Daniel Boone National Forest which briefly moved into Menifee County, Maczko said.

It took the National Weather Service (NWS) until around noon Tuesday to make the call that Lincoln County had been struck by a tornado, but for those who saw the narrow path of damage running for more than eight miles across the county there was little doubt. Of course, the NWS has to rely on a scientific analysis of radar data and debris patterns to make their call, but Lincoln County High School (LCHS) Principal Tim Godbey got to see the storm in person as it ripped through the complex housing the high school, middle school and 6th Grade Center.

STANFORD — The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado hit Lincoln County on Monday morning, damaging the school complex and neighboring property along U.S. 27 south of Stanford. The tornado’s path was 8.2 miles long and 250 yards wide, and  the wind speed reached 100 mph. No injuries were reported. The tornado first touched down at 6:49 a.m. about .8 of a mile southwest of Stanford. It then traveled southeast, damaging the Lincoln County Middle School complex about a mile south of Stanford.

There are no initial reports of damage in Jessamine County after a tornado warning Tuesday afternoon, according to John V. Carpenter, director of Jessamine County Emergency Management. The National Weather Service in Louisville issued a tornado warning Tuesday afternoon for Jessamine County, northwestern Garrard County in east central Kentucky and eastern Mercer County in east central Kentucky until 2:15 p.m. At 1:36 p.m., National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch in effect until 4 p.m. Tuesday for 59 counties in Kentucky and Indiana, including Jessamine County. A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms and multiple tornadoes in and close to the watch area, according to the National Weather Service. People in the affected areas are encouraged to be vigilant in preparation for severe weather. In east central Kentucky, the watch includes Anderson, Bourbon, Boyle, Clark, Fayette, Franklin, Garrard, Harrison, Jessamine, Madison, Mercer, Nicholas, Scott and Woodford counties.

LIBERTY ? One week after an EF-2 tornado left a mile-and-a-half-long path of destruction through Casey County, a skeleton crew of emergency responders and volunteers are still on-scene, working to clean up the mess left behind by Mother Nature. Josh Wethington, who is currently coordinating the emergency response efforts, said 82 homes were either destroyed or damaged by the tornado. Red Cross Disaster Coordinator Kerry Graul said the Red Cross has a slightly different count of 69 homes affected, including 28 destroyed and 14 suffering major damage.

LIBERTY ? Many in Casey County are homeless or living with friends and family after an F2 tornado tore through the Creston area Friday afternoon, destroying an estimated 25 homes and seriously damaging at least 25 more. The tornado touched down at 2:36 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, and was gone again by 2:38 p.m., but the path of damage it left behind was extensive. Jeff Cain was in his car when he saw the tornado touch down. He had pulled over into the Cold Spring Primitive Baptist Church parking lot in order to get good cell phone reception when he noticed the clouds "coming down toward the ground.

LIBERTY ? In the wake of the tornado that ripped through Casey County on Friday afternoon, a plethora of emergency responders have made their way to the Crockett Trail General Store at the intersection of Ky. 70 and Ky. 206. An emergency command post has been set up in the store's parking lot, along with a Salvation Army kitchen and tables of food donated by the Casey County Baptist Association. Lt. Dan Nelson with the Salvation Army said he is serving about 40 people at each meal.