2021 Western Kentucky tornado

2021 Western Kentucky tornado
Meteorological history
FormedDecember 10, 2021, 8:54 p.m. CST (UTC−06:00)
DissipatedDecember 10, 2021, 11:48 p.m. CST (UTC−06:00)
Duration2 hours, 54 minutes
EF4 tornado
on the Enhanced Fujita scale
Highest winds190 mph (310 km/h)
Overall effects
Fatalities57 (+1 indirect)[1][2]
Injuries519
Areas affectedObion County, Tennessee and Western Kentucky, United States
Part of the tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021 and tornado outbreaks of 2021

The violent, long-tracked, EF4-intensity 2021 Western Kentucky tornado occurred during the late evening of Friday, December 10, 2021; it moved across Western Kentucky, United States, producing severe-to-catastrophic damage in numerous towns, including Mayfield, Princeton, Dawson Springs, and Bremen.[2] This tornado was the second significant tornado in an exceedingly long-tracked tornado family; it began just inside northern Obion County, Tennessee – a few miles after another long-tracked tornado that traveled through northeast Arkansas, the Missouri Bootheel, and northwest Tennessee – and dissipated in western Obion County.[3] After crossing into Kentucky, the tornado moved through eleven counties of the Jackson Purchase and Western Coal Field regions, at times becoming wrapped in rain during its almost three-hour lifespan that covered 165.6 miles (266.5 km). It was the deadliest and longest-tracked tornado in an outbreak that produced numerous, strong tornadoes in several states; this tornado caused 57 deaths.[2]

Early estimates suggested the tornado family, which some media outlets described as a "Quad-State tornado" due to the storm's long track and similarity to the 219-mile (352 km) Tri-State tornado of 1925, might have traveled 250 miles (400 km) on the ground, making it the longest-tracked tornado in history.[4][5][6] Storm surveys found the majority of the storm's path consisted of two separate EF4 tornadoes, and three weak, short-lived tornadoes in between them in northwestern Obion County, Tennessee. The parent supercell that produced the two EF4 tornadoes, and eleven tornadoes in total, later became known as the Quad-State supercell.

  1. ^ The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's finalized damage survey by county
    • National Weather Service in Memphis, Tennessee; National Centers for Environmental Information (March 19, 2022). "Tennessee Event Report: EF4 Tornado (Obion County)". Storm Event Database. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on September 24, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Paducah, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Louisville, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Louisville, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Louisville, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Louisville, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
    • "Kentucky Event Report: EF4 Tornado". National Centers for Environmental Information. National Weather Service in Louisville, Kentucky. 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Dec 10–11, 2021 Tornado Event". National Weather Service Forecast Office in Paducah, Kentucky. January 25, 2022. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  3. ^ "December 10–11, 2021 Tornado Outbreak". National Weather Service Forecast Office in Memphis, Tennessee. December 15, 2021. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  4. ^ Ryan Reynolds (December 11, 2021). "Kentucky tornado may have broken 1925 'Tri-State Tornado's' longest continuous path record". Evansville Courier & Press. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  5. ^ "How the 'Quad States' tornado happened". WCPO. December 14, 2021. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  6. ^ "Longest tornado ever? Deadly twister that hit 5 states may set record". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2021.