Tornado in Mason & Lewis Counties, KY

Heat Continues for the East and South-Central U.S.; Strong to Severe Storms Across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast

The extremely dangerous heat wave continues across the East Coast and much of the South-Central U.S. today. Record high temperatures are expected for some areas especially across the Mid-Atlantic where extreme heat risk conditions reside. There is a Slight Risk (level 2 of 5) of severe thunderstorms today for the northern Mid-Atlantic into portions of southern New England. Read More >

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH 445 PM EDT TUE MAY 13 2003 A TEAM FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN WILMINGTON HAS COMPLETED A GROUND AND AERIAL SURVEY OF THE TORNADO DAMAGE IN MASON AND LEWIS COUNTIES IN KENTUCKY. A TORNADO OCCURRED ON SATURDAY...MAY 10TH. THE TORNADO THAT MOVED FROM MASON INTO LEWIS COUNTY HAS BEEN RATED AN F3 ON THE FUJITA SCALE. THE WORST DAMAGE APPEARED TO BE THE RESULT OF WINDS IN THE LOWER END THE THE F3 SCALE. F3 WINDS RANGE FROM 158 MPH TO 206 MPH. THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN MASON COUNTY KENTUCKY ABOUT 2 TO 3 MILES SOUTHEAST OF MAYSVILLE AND MOVED EAST SOUTHEAST ACROSS MASON COUNTY AND INTO LEWIS COUNTY. TORNADO DAMAGE ENDED APPROXIMATELY 3 TO 4 MILES SOUTHEAST OF VANCEBURG. BASED ON THE DAMAGE OBSERVED...THE TORNADO PATH APPEARED TO SKIP ACROSS PARTS OF MASON AND LEWIS COUNTIES. SEVERAL AREAS IN MASON COUNTY RECEIVED DAMAGE...HOWEVER MOST OF THE TORNADO DAMAGE OCCURRED IN LEWIS COUNTY. THE HERON HILL AREA IN LEWIS COUNTY WAS PARTICULARLY HARD HIT. THIS IS WHERE THE F3 DAMAGE OCCURRED. MAXIMUM WIDTH OF THE TORNADO WAS APPROXIMATELY 200 YARDS AND OCCURRED IN THE HERON HILL AREA. NO INJURIES OCCURRED IN MASON COUNTY. SEVENTEEN INJURIES OCCURRED IN LEWIS COUNTY. THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 21 HOMES DESTROYED...10 HOMES WITH MAJOR DAMAGE AND 17 HOMES WITH MINOR DAMAGE. ALSO... NUMEROUS BARNS...BUILDINGS AND GARAGES WERE DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. $$