BROOKSVILLE, Ky. — Storms moved through Bracken County in Kentucky on Monday around 5:10 p.m. that resulted in a tornado, according to the National Weather Service.
Preliminary findings of an NWS storm survey confirmed a tornado near the Brooksville area, the service said.
The NWS said a final assessment, including the full results of the survey and tornado rating will be completed Wednesday.
The storms caused some damage around the area.
During the severe weather, rotation was evident on the radar in that area and eventually, a Tornado Warning was issued by the NWS as the storm crossed the river into Ohio.
The Enhanced Fujita scale, or the measurement of the strength of tornadoes, goes from EF0 to EF5. Here are the wind gusts measured for each level of tornado:
EF0: 65-85mph
EF1: 86-110mph
EF2: 111-135mph
EF3: 136-165mph
EF4: 166-200mph
EF5: 200mph or more
WCPO 9 reporter Marlena Lang went down to Brooksville on Tuesday morning to see the damage the tornado left behind.
“It was so dark, all I could see was twigs and tree branches banging on the window and that’s when I heard this really loud noise,” said Brooksville resident Melissa Mers. “And I just turned around and shot straight to the bathroom.”
Mers was home alone when a storm rolled through her neighborhood. She told us that she hid in her bathtub, and when it was over, she found her roof destroyed.
“There was a big log that was hanging down here, it wasn’t like all the way down but it was just hanging there,” said Mers.
She also said water was pouring into her home through the hole, and debris was everywhere. But, that wasn’t the only damage.
In her backyard, parts of her roof were on the ground, tree branches were everywhere, her telephone pole was knocked down, and the garage was collapsed.
Just across the street, Tony Johnson’s barn roof was partially ripped off. He told Lang that when the storm hit, he was inside the barn.
“It was kinda scary,” said Johnson. He said when the panels started to come off the roof, he dove into a horse stall.
Hear more on community reactions to the storm below:
Both Johnson and Mers told me the entire storm passed through in less than a minute, yet it damaged cars, homes, sheds, took down trees, and injured one of Johnson’s horses.
Residents say they didn’t hear the sirens go off when the damage occurred. At 5:10 pm, when the storm arrived, a severe thunderstorm warning was in effect. That does not trigger the sirens. A tornado warning was eventually issued at 5:23 pm, but that was after the storm had left Brooksville.
However, this incident concerns some residents.
“Nothing had went off, no warning, no sirens, nothing to indicate that something was coming,” said Mers.
Mers is worried that if another tornado hits, that’s worse, if there are no warnings again, someone could be hurt.
According to Bracken County EMA director Daniel Waches, no one was injured during this tornado.
