Survey completed on I-69 tornado: 1 fatality, 21 injured

National Weather Service survey teams finished evaluating the long-track tornado that paralleled I-69 through parts of Lyon, Caldwell, and Hopkins Counties on Sunday.

They said the tornado was a high-end EF3 with estimated peak winds of 160 miles per hour. It was on the ground for an hour and 14 minutes on a path 35 miles long.

Teams confirmed one death and 21 injuries from the storm. A 54-year-old man in Caldwell County died from a heart attack while cutting fallen trees.

They said the tornado severely damaged or destroyed 46 buildings with another 52 structures sustaining considerable damage.

The tornado touched down 2 miles north of Eddyville in Lyon County and intensified to an EF2 near the Caldwell and Lyon County line.

It reportedly weakened briefly north of Princeton, then intensified and widened as it destroyed several mobile homes and wood frame structures just south of the Charleston community in western Hopkins County. 

Just north of I-69 it destroyed more mobile homes and a wood frame home. Two mobile homes were destroyed just north of Morton’s Gap and the tornado flipped a vehicle before it  lifted just west of I-69 in Hopkins County.

Experts in structural engineering were brought in to help determine the extent of the tornado’s damage rating.

Teams said the tornado impacted much of the same communities as the tornado on December 10, 2021.


PRELIMINARY REPORT:
On Monday, storm survey teams from the National Weather Service in Paducah returned the first numbers on tornadoes that impacted parts of Lyon, Caldwell, Hopkins, and Muhlenberg counties on Sunday evening. 

For the long-track tornado that basically followed I-69 from near Eddyville past Princeton and Dawson Springs to Earlington, KY, surveyors so far have found high-end EF-3 damage with estimated peak winds of 165 miles per hour. Surveyors noted that they have not covered the entire path yet, including some of the areas with the most damage, so numbers could be adjusted upward.

In fact, due to the severity of the damage, a team of experts in structural engineering will be brought in to provide expertise in determining the tornado’s final damage rating. 

Additional personnel from NWS in Louisville will also be assisting with damage surveys in Muhlenberg County this week.



(Photo submitted to Lyon County Sheriff's office Facebook page)