at 5:17 PM by Pierce Larkin

EF-0 Tornado Confirmed Near Glasgow, KY

Late Saturday afternoon, an EF-0 tornado affected a small area just east/southeast of Glasgow, KY, along Morrison Park Road. According to the National Weather Service in Louisville, KY, the tornado was rated an EF-0, with winds of  70-80 mph along its 1.5 mile path, following a damage survey this morning. An EF-0 is the weakest possible rating on the Enhanced Fujita scale, the scale used in measuring such phenomena. Here is a rough location of where the tornado occurred:

The official tornado track from the National Weather Service. h/t NWS Louisville
The official tornado track from the National Weather Service. h/t NWS Louisville

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The twister damaged a metal outbuilding, trees and also flattened a large portion of a corn field. Results from the survey conducted by the NWS proved that it was in fact a tornado. Meteorologist Joe Sullivan, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the NWS Office in Louisville, was the surveyor.

Many have asked why there was no warning issued yesterday afternoon for the storm in question. The simple reasoning comes down to the surrounding environment. “…10 knots of shear was shown on the Louisville radar on the storm,” said Sullivan when discussing the storm with me.

The storm didn’t form or move into a region with very much, if any, wind shear. Wind shear measures the changing of wind direction and speed with height. It is crucial to the development and sustaining of severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes.

With no wind shear across the region on Saturday afternoon, and very little shear showing up on the radar for the storm itself, the NWS wasn’t inclined to issue a tornado warning on the storm. There were no signs of a tornado on radar, or an environment that would support a tornado.

This is the radar and 0-6km Bulk Shear across SoKY on Saturday afternoon. Bulk Shear measures the change in wind speed with height, and it was virtually non-existent. h/t SPC
This is the radar and 0-6km Bulk Shear across SoKY on Saturday afternoon. Bulk Shear measures the change in wind speed with height, and it was virtually non-existent. h/t SPC
This is the Effective SRH from Saturday afternoon around the time of the storm. Effective Storm Relative Helicity (SRH) is the measurement of the helical motion that an updraft can have, or the amount that the winds direction are changing with height and speed. The effective portion of this gives the amount of helicity that is actually acting on the storm. Values yesterday weren't high enough to support a tornado give the limited instability present. h/t SPC
This is the Effective SRH from Saturday afternoon around the time of the storm. Effective Storm Relative Helicity (SRH) is the measurement of a storm motion that an updraft can have…in other words, how the wind direction(s) change with height and speed. Values yesterday didn’t appear high enough to support a tornado give the limited instability present. h/t SPC

This was a very odd little storm, and it formed in a very unfavorable environment for tornadoes Saturday afternoon. In many ways, this was somewhat of a fluke tornado. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. We’ll have an official map and more information as the NWS updates the information.