EF-1 Tornado In Marshall County Examined

Due to the Fall Break at WKU, I happened to be home during the time of the Marshall County EF-1 tornado that occurred early Friday morning. I was surprised the next day when I awoke to news of significant structural damage of a business in Benton, KY. I went back and took a look at archived radar data and sure enough there was some weak, broad rotation when the tornado touched down. However, the signature would not have caused much concern at the time. In the graphic below, the red dot shows the location of the business that was heavily damaged.

I was given permission from the owner of the business to survey the storm damage to his property. Needless to say, it was an eye opening experience to see what the power of just an EF-1 tornado could do.

Here’s a brief overview of the damage I saw and where it occurred. According to this map, and the official storm report by the National Weather Service, the tornado only left a path of 1/2 mile. Given the speed of the storms, this means the tornado was likely only on the ground for 1 minute. A good reminder that weather conditions can change rapidly.

The above picture is one reason why you need be in an interior room of your building during a tornado. Notice the dents in the side of this strong metal building. This is likely due to flying debris from Marshall County Tire. Imagine if the tornado had been stronger.

Again, I would like to remind everyone that I got permission from the business owner to survey the tornado damage. This is not encouraged for people to do after a major storm. Be sure to have the property owners consent before trespassing on their property to look at storm damage.