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This morning an EF-4 tornado hit Harrisburg, IL with 170 mph winds. We have had reports of check stubs from Harrisburg that have been found in the Evansville area about 70 miles away.
Unofficial reports out of the Hodgenville area indicate at least one and maybe two tornadoes may be responsible for the damage there. The official word will be out shortly.
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Updated Wednesday at 5:00 PM.... While today's severe weather continues across southeast Kentucky into Tennessee, we are now looking ahead to another severe weather outbreak on Friday.
The SPC has the following cities in a 30% risk area for Friday which is an upper level slight risk.....
Louisville
Lexington
Cincinnati
Bowling Green
Nashville
SPC says: FIRST FEW HOURS OF CONVECTIVE REGIME MAY INVOLVE FAST-MOVING/SFC-BASED SUPERCELLS AND ACCORDINGLY ENHANCED TORNADO POTENTIAL. EXTENT TO WHICH THIS REGIME WILL LINK WITH EARLIER/OH VALLEY CONVECTION IS UNCERTAIN...AS ARE IMPORTANT MODE CONSIDERATIONS SUCH AS PACE OF LINEAR EVOLUTION.
Early Friday morning a warm front will move through with a limited severe potential with this first front.
By early Friday evening, a cold front will be approaching and this will trigger more widespread thunderstorm activity.
NWS Louisville says: Secondary and more widespread severe weather outbreak looks increasingly likely Friday afternoon and evening as a very strong surface cold front pushes in from the west. The latest deterministic and ensemble wind profiles suggest a combination of strong speed and directional shear with proximity soundings showing large/curved hodographs. Bulk shear is quite impressive and supportive of strong convection capable of all severe weather modes.
Given the combination of shear profiles and instability forecast by the NAM-WRF and SREF probabilistic forecasts...a rather large regional severe outbreak seems likely. Initial mode of convection could generally be discrete cells capable of all modes of severe weather including damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes. It does appear that the directional shear will become more speed based shear which probably will result in convection becoming quasi-linear in nature as the night goes on.
NWS Paducah says: UNFORTUNATELY...THE MODELS ARE SHOWING SIMILAR SEVERE WEATHER PARAMETERS FOR FRIDAY...TO WHAT WE HAD IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION EARLY THIS MORNING. THIS CAN NOT BE OVER STATED AND SHOULD BE MONITORED CLOSELY...GIVEN WHAT HAPPENED THIS MORNING.
NWS Nashville: SEVERE WX IS POSSIBLE AGAIN...WITH DAMAGING WINDS...HAIL AND TORNADOES ALL POSSIBLE. IT LOOKS LIKE CLUSTERS OR DISCREET CELLS DURING THE DAY FRIDAY WILL FUSE INTO A QLCS OVER THE MID STATE BY EVENING...THEN THE QLCS WILL RACE OFF TO OUR EAST LATE EVENING.
NWS Indianapolis: NAM IS SIGNIFICANTLY STRONGER AND MORE WOUND UP WITH THE LOW...AND IF THIS VERIFIES...A SIGNIFICANT SEVERE WEATHER THREAT WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA...WITH ANY AND ALL THREATS POSSIBLE...AS SREF POSTPROCESSED GUIDANCE INDICATES SIGNIFICANT LOW AND DEEP LAYER SHEAR AND WEAK TO MODERATE INSTABILITY. OVERALL SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS LOOK TO BE A GOOD BET FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...AND THE SEVERE THREAT BEARS CLOSE SCRUTINY AS THE DAY APPROACHES.
The next update for the Friday severe weather numbers will be issued by the SPC early Thursday morning.
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Three Walmart stores have been hit by tornadoes today.
There was major roof and water damage at the Walmart in Harrisburg, IL.
Minor roof and water damage was reported from tornado hits at Walmarts in Branson, MO and Lebanon, MO.
As of 4:00, there have been 16 tornadoes today. Hardest hit are Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri.
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Here is the preliminary tornado survey from the NWS in Paducah for the Harrisburg, IL tornado.....
***PRELIMINARY INFORMATION ONLY...ASSESSMENT ONGOING***
THE FOLLOWING IS AN INITIAL REPORT IN...FROM A DAMAGE ASSESSMENT ONGOING FOR THE CITY OF HARRISBURG IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS.
* EVENT TIME - 456 AM CST
* EVENT TYPE - PRELIMINARY EF4 TORNADO
* EVENT LOCATION - SOUTHERN PART OF HARRISBURG
* PEAK WIND - ESTIMATED 170 MPH
* AVERAGE PATH WIDTH - ESTIMATED 200 YARDS
* DISCUSSION/DAMAGE - STRIP MALL NEAR WAL MART SUFFERED MAJOR DAMAGE. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING DAMAGE...INJURIES AND FATALITIES WILL BE ADDED TO THIS PRELIMINARY REPORT...AS WILL PATH LENGTH. AS OF RIGHT NOW...THE LATEST IS 6 DEATHS HAVE BEEN REPORTED.
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Here is the preliminary report on the Hardin Co. tornado from the NWS.....
.Preliminary survey indicates an EF-2 tornado in Hardin County...
Damage Type: Tornado EF Scale: 2
Estimated touchdown 0956 AM EST
Estimated ending time 0959 AM EST
Wind Speed: 120 to 125 MPH
Path Length: 2.0 Miles
Path Width: 250 Yards
Narrative: This preliminary survey indicated that this tornado touched down south of Elizabethtown near Interstate 65. It damaged numerous buildings along its 2 mile path. The storm survey is ongoing. Additional information will be available after the survey is complete.
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The most rain Louisville has ever had on Leap Day was .31".
Today's total is .54" which is a new record.
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I do not have any photos from Hodgenville yet. Reports from Hodgenville indicate a tornado has hit a subdivision near the IGA Express. The damage appears to be extensive with roofs gone and other damage.
Power is out in much of the area. I have not heard of any injuries.
This photo show the damage at the Harry Owen Trucking company in E'town along Lincoln Parkway.
The insulation has been blown several hundred yards.
The NWS has several storm survey crews already out and there should be some early info on the intensity of these tornadoes later today.
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The worst of the damage in Grayson Co. is in Horntown which is just east of Clarkson.
4 people have been injured.
For more info on this......click HERE
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Updated Wednesday at 1:20 PM..... A tornado watch has been issued for this afternoon for areas south of Louisville and to east for areas south of I-64.
Ongoing severe weather continues near Bowling Green and up toward Campbellsville.
The severe threat for Louisville will not end until the cold front moves through. There has been some sunshine the last hour and the atmosphere is recovering. If storms fire, they could become severe. The NWS says that there is a tornado potential if new storms develop along the Ohio River. If this happens, it will occur within the next hour or two.
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A tornado hit the south side of Elizabethtown this morning.
An emergency shelter has been set up at the Pritchard Community Center.
Here is a report from the WAVE 3 Newsroom.....
A house was destroyed on Sportsman Lake Road, and a woman was trapped inside briefly, according to Greg Lowe, executive officer at the Hardin County Sheriff's Office. Lowe also said the garage of a home on Overall Phillips Road in Elizabethtown sustained severe damage, and there is minor damage to homes and properties in the Rhudes Creek Road area.
Sheriff deputies and other emergency responders were investigating a report of extensive damage at the Harry Owen Trucking Company on Lincoln Parkway in Elizabethtown. Roofs are off trailers at the neighboring Pine Tree Mobile Home Park.
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