The National Weather Service (NWS) was in Grayson County on Friday and confirmed a tornado struck about four miles southeast of Clarkson.
The EF-0 tornado, with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour, struck a little after 9:00 Thursday night. The initial assessment shows the tornado was between 40 and 50 yards wide and was on the ground for just short of a mile.
About four miles southeast of Clarkson, just after 9:00, reports were received about the tornado causing extensive damage to at least two homes, completely destroying two outbuildings adjacent to the homes (one of the outbuildings contained a vehicle), and causing a transformer about 75 yards north of one of the damaged residences to blow.
Responding to the carnage were the Clarkson Fire and Police Departments, the Grayson County Sheriff’s Office (including Sheriff Norman Chaffins), Grayson County Emergency Management Director Tony Willen, and Warren RECC workers.
Two homes, both in the 3800 block of Millerstown Road at the intersection of Keller School Road, suffered moderate to severe damage, with one home having almost all the windows blown out, including a large picture window. The residence’s porch was also blown away by the twister.
The other home, across the street and about 150 yards northwest, had a utility pole pierce the structure, along with damage to the roof and windows.
One witness who lives in the area said it “sounded like a train for about 25 seconds” and then “it was gone.”
Debris was strewn over a wide area (several hundred yards), including pieces of siding in trees and hung up high on utility poles.
WRECC workers arrived and worked to restore power to nearly 600 customers who lost electricity when the transformer blew.
(For K105’s previous coverage of the Clarkson tornado, click here)
Leitchfield damage apparently caused by straight-line winds
In Leitchfield, trees were down in the 900 block of Brandenburg Road, blocking the roadway and causing one driver to flip his vehicle as he attempted to avoid a large branch across the roadway (read K105’s story on the accident by clicking here).
Additionally, trees fell on two homes, one in the 700 block of Brandenburg Road, the other a huge tree that was uprooted and fell onto a residence in the 100 block of Goff Drive. Both of those homes were damaged, but the significance of the damage was difficult to ascertain in the dark and without the trees being removed.
The Leitchfield Fire Department responded to both reports of trees down on homes.
Finally, at least part of a tree also fell across one lane of Brandenburg Road at the intersection of Embry Brothers Drive.
There were reports of trees down around the county, but the major damage, at this point, appears to be relegated to the Brandenburg Road corridor in Leitchfield and the 3900 block of Millerstown Road.
The NWS, after viewing photographic evidence, deemed the damage in Leitchfield was not caused by a tornado.
LaRue Co. tornado
The NWS confirmed Friday that an EF-1 tornado, with maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour, struck LaRue County on Thursday night.
The tornado was on the ground for about four miles and damaged several barns and outbuildings. The twister also uprooted numerous trees.
NWS tornado assessors continue to evaluate and assess damage in Ohio and Hardin counties to determine whether tornadoes or straight-line winds are to blame for destruction in those counties.
(Headline photo: National Weather Service drone photo of damage to Millerstown Road home and outbuilding)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
