The National Weather Service has confirmed that at least two different tornadoes struck Northern Kentucky earlier this week: a category EF2 tornado that began in Dearborn County, Indiana, and ended in Boone County; and a category EF1 tornado that began in Boone County and ended in Kenton County.
The Director of the Kenton County Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Steve Hensley, confirmed the second tornado with LINK nky on Saturday.
Meteorologists from the National Weather Service who spoke with LINK nky stated that damage assessments for the region are ongoing and that it will likely take several more days to get a full handle on things. The service has also confirmed tornadoes in Carroll County and Mason County.
Tornadoes are classified according to a system called the Enhanced Fujita, or EF, Scale, which assigns categories on a 0 to 5 scale based on wind speed and damage. EF1 tornadoes display a wind speed between 86 to 110 miles per hour. EF2 tornadoes display a wind speed between 111 and 135 miles per hour.
The first tornado began at 12:14 a.m. on Thursday in Dearborn County, Indiana, and concluded in Boone County at 12:26 a.m., according to the weather service. The service estimates wind speeds for this tornado peaked at 130 miles per hour, and current damage assessments have recorded multiple uprooted trees as well as the destruction of one garage, two homes and two buildings. At least two buildings lost their roofs, and a third building sustained roof damage.
The second tornado began in Boone County in Oakbrook at 12:34 a.m., moved east and finally concluded in Elsmere at 12:46 a.m. Estimates put peak wind speeds for the second tornado at 100 miles per hour, at which point it was traveling through Florence, which sustained heavy damage.
“The tornado continued southeast, crossing into Kenton County,” the National Weather Service’s report reads, “snapping several trees at residences along Autumn Road. The final known instance of tornadic damage was on Tallwood Circle, where multiple large branches were downed.”
“We (Kenton County) were still much more fortunate than some of the other areas around us,” said Hensley. “Boone County sustained quite a bit of damage.”
Check out the National Weather Service’s public information page to stay up to date with more information about this week’s tornadoes as damage assessments continue.
