Storm surveys complete; 10 total tornadoes identified

(UPDATE TUESDAY MORNING)
Meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Paducah completed their final batch of damage surveys associated with the severe storms from last Friday.

On Monday they looked at storm damage in Christian County and determined that the final EF-2 tornado of the night touched down near I-24 southwest of Hopkinsville and traveled east for 10 miles. It crossed the Pennyrile Parkway and Ft. Camplbell Boulevard just south of Hopkinsville.

In Lyon County, an EF-1 tornado with peak winds of 105 mph occurred near Lamasco.

Meteorologists also determined that straight-line wind damage occurred in several locations, including:

Caldwell County: up to 93 mph found in Princeton.
Marshall County: up to 85 mph found in the Hardin-Olive-Aurora area.
Trigg County: up to 90 mph found in the Cumberland Shores community to Highway 139.

The National Weather Service continues to add data to its summary of each tornado here .


(UPDATE MONDAY MORNING)
Over the weekend, structural engineers in southern Illinois found damage that indicates that Friday's Marion tornado had an intensity rating of EF-4 with peak winds of 190 miles per hour.

That makes it the strongest to impact the Paducah National Weather Service area since the Mayfield tornado in December of 2021.

The study of structural damage to affected buildings was added to meteorologists' survey data that showed the tornado was on the ground in southern Williamson County for 17 minutes and traveled 16.5 miles, with a path more than 500 yards wide. 

Officials said 7 people were injured and about 40 large structures were damaged along with dozens of smaller buidings.

The National Weather Service in Paducah has now confirmed at least nine tornadoes across southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and the Kentucky Pennyrile on Friday. 

They include one EF-4 tornado, two EF-3, four EF-2s, and two EF-1 tornadoes. 

Additional damage surveys are planned for today east of Land Between the Lakes in Lyon, Christian, Todd and Logan counties.

The National Weather Service has posted a summary of each tornado here .
 


(UPDATE SATURDAY NIGHT)
Storm surveys conducted Saturday by the National Weather Service in Paducah confirmed that a half-dozen tornadoes touched down in Missouri and Illinois during Friday's severe outbreak.

The largest were a pair of EF-3 intensity twisters, one estimated at 165 miles per hour in Marion, Illinois. The other was the deadly Sikeston/Scott and Stoddard County tornado. It had 152-mph winds along a path of 16 miles and resulted in two Missouri deaths.

Meteorologists said the Marion tornado could be upgraded to a higher wind speed pending input by engineers about structural damage.

A pair of EF-2 tornadoes included one with 125-mph winds in Cape Giradeau County, Missouri; and 115-mph peak winds in Saline and Gallatin counties in Illinois.

The remaining pair surveyed Saturday was estimated at 115 miles per hour in Saline County, and 110 miles per hour in Scott County.

NWS crews say the tornado in Marion could turn out to be even more powerful than EF3, but they won’t know for sure until analysis by structural engineering experts is complete.

Surveys will continue on Sunday (see previous story.)


(SATURDAY MORNING)
Storm survey teams from the National Weather Service office in Paducah are already making plans to get out today and assess damage that will indicate the intensity of confirmed and possible tornadoes that occurred on Friday afternoon and evening across southeast Missouri, southern Illinois and western Kentucky.

Three teams will be out this weekend to examine storm damage along six storm tracks: one team in southeast Missouri on Saturday, another in southern Illinois and northwest Kentucky on Saturday; and a third crew heading east of the lakes in Kentucky on Sunday and Monday.

In Illinois, meteorologists will examine a track starting in Williamson County south of Marion, and continuing east into Henderson County in northwestern Kentucky.

In Missouri, three different tracks include a path west of Jackson in Cape Girardeau County, a path in Scott County at Sikeston, and a path which starts in Stoddard County and stretches into southern Scott County.

In Kentucky, paths for study include parts of Lyon, Christian, Todd and Logan counties. 

As more information comes in to the weather office from local reports, additional damage survey trips will be planned, possibly well into next week.


(Photo: Williamson County IL Sheriff's office)