March 2, 2012 -- Tornado near Crittenden and Piner

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
418 PM EST FRI MAR 9 2012

...A PORTION OF THE TORNADO PATH THROUGH PINER KENTUCKY IN SOUTHWEST 
KENTON COUNTY HAS BEEN UPGRADED TO AN EF4 LEVEL TORNADO...

LOCATION...CRITTENDEN AND PINER IN GRANT AND KENTON COUNTY KENTUCKY
DATE...MARCH 2 2012
ESTIMATED TIME...430 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF4
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...175 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...ONE HALF MILE
PATH LENGTH...10 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...38.791N/84.633W
ENDING LAT/LON...38.8324N/84.459W
* FATALITIES...4
* INJURIES...8

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.

...SUMMARY...
WITH ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AND DETAILS RECEIVED FROM KENTON COUNTY 
POLICE DEPARTMENT...THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON OH
HAS CONFIRMED THAT A PORTION OF THE MARCH 2 2012 GRANT AND KENTON 
COUNTY TORNADO DID REACH THE EF4 THRESHOLD.

THE DAMAGE IN GRANT COUNTY...SPECIFICALLY IN THE HARVESTERS 
SUBDIVISION...REMAINS IN THE LOW TO MID EF3 CATEGORY...AS AT LEAST 
SOME EXTERIOR AND MOST INTERIOR WALLS WERE STANDING WHERE THE
DAMAGE WAS THE WORST. THIS OCCURRED AT THE WEST END OF BARLEY 
CIRCLE. MOST OF THE DAMAGE IN THE SUBDIVISION WAS EF1 TO EF2.

IMMEDIATELY AS THE TORNADO CROSSED FROM WEST TO EAST OF INTERSTATE 
75...THE STORM STRENGTHENED TO EF4 LEVEL WITH WINDS ESTIMATED AT 175 
MPH. WHILE A TOTAL OF FIVE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES WERE DESTROYED TO 
THEIR FOUNDATIONS IN THE AREA...AT LEAST TWO OF THESE HOMES MET THE
EF4 CRITERIA OF SUFFICIENT FOUNDATION STRAPPING/BOLTING.

ALL 4 FATALITIES WITH THIS TORNADO OCCURRED WITHIN THE AREA OF EF4 
LEVEL DAMAGE.

THE EF4 LEVEL DAMAGE WAS FOUND FROM THE EAST SIDE OF INTERSTATE 75 
TO THE NORTH END OF OLD LEXINGTON PIKE...WHERE 2 HOMES AND MULTIPLE 
OUTBUILDINGS WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED. BOTH HOMES WERE BRICK 
STRUCTURES WITH FOUNDATION BOLTING OR STRAPPING. THE EF4 LEVEL WINDS 
CONTINUED ACROSS ROUTE 25/DIXIE HIGHWAY...AND ENDED NEAR THE BAGBY 
ROAD AREA. AT LEAST 2 VEHICLES WERE CARRIED...WITH ONE CARRIED OVER 
1800 FEET. TREES WERE STRIPPED OF NEARLY ALL BRANCHES...WITH MUCH OF 
THE BARK ALSO STRIPPED.

AS THE STORM HEADED FURTHER TO THE EAST NORTHEAST...HIGH END EF3 
DAMAGE CONTINUED THROUGH OTHER PROPERTIES ALONG BAGBY ROAD...TO 
CARLISLE...PARKER GROVE AND PAXTON ROADS. NUMEROUS DOUBLE AND SINGLE 
WIDE HOMES WERE DESTROYED....WITH BOTH BRICK AND SIDING STRUCTURES 
LEFT WITH COLLAPSED EXERIOR WALLS AND EITHER ALL OR A LARGE 
PERCENTAGE OF ROOF REMOVAL.

THE WIDTH OF TORNADO DAMAGE WAS ROUGHLY ONE HALF MILE. 

THE STORM CONTINUED THE EAST NORTHEAST PATH INTO SOUTHEAST KENTON 
COUNTY...TO THE LICKING RIVER NEAR MORNING VIEW. DAMAGE IN THE 
MORNING VIEW AREA WAS CONSISTENT WITH EF1 TO EF2 DAMAGE TO THE 
CAMPBELL COUNTY LINE.

IN ADDITION TO THE PATH OF THE TORNADO ITSELF...THERE WAS A WIDE 
AREA OF STRAIGHT LINE /NON-TORNADIC/ WINDS ESTIMATED IN EXCESS OF 
100 MPH ALONG THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF THE TORNADO PATH. THIS DAMAGE 
RESULTED IN NUMEROUS BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS DESTROYED...WITH 
HUNDREDS OF TREES SNAPPED OR PUSHED OVER...AS WELL AS WIDESPREAD 
ROOF DAMAGE.

WITH THE COMBINATION OF THE DAMAGE FROM THE TORNADO ITSELF AND THE 
REAR FLANK DOWNDRAFT DAMAGE....TOTAL DAMAGE SWATH REACHED AS MUCH AS 
A MILE WIDE IN SOME LOCATIONS.

THIS INFORMATION CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE AT
WEATHER.GOV/ILN.

FOR REFERENCE...THE ENHANCED FUJITA SCALE CLASSIFIES TORNADOES INTO
THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:

EF0...WIND SPEEDS 65 TO 85 MPH.
EF1...WIND SPEEDS 86 TO 110 MPH.
EF2...WIND SPEEDS 111 TO 135 MPH.
EF3...WIND SPEEDS 136 TO 165 MPH.
EF4...WIND SPEEDS 166 TO 200 MPH.
EF5...WIND SPEEDS GREATER THAN 200 MPH.

$$

10

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
902 PM EST SAT MAR 3 2012

...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR CRITTENDEN AND PINER IN GRANT AND KENTON
COUNTY KENTUCKY...

...SUMMARY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON OH HAS CONFIRMED A
TORNADO NEAR CRITTENDEN AND PINER IN GRANT AND KENTON COUNTY
KENTUCKY ON MARCH 2 2012.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON OH HAS CONFIRMED A
TORNADO BEGINNING NEAR CRITTENDEN KENTUCKY IN NORTHERN GRANT
COUNTY...AND CONTINUING EAST NORTHEAST THROUGH PINER...FISKBURG
AND MORNING VIEW IN SOUTHERN KENTON COUNTY. 

IN NORTHERN GRANT COUNTY...MINOR DAMAGE BEGAN NEAR ROUTE 491 ABOUT
2 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CRITTENDEN. THE DAMAGE INTENSIFIED AS IT
APPROACHED THE AREA NEAR VIOLET ROAD AND BINGHAM LANE. SOME ROOF
DAMAGE AND TREE DAMAGE OCCURRED...CONSISTENT WITH EF0. AS THE
STORM PROGRESSED TO THE HARVESTERS SUBDIVISION...NUMEROUS HOMES
HAD ROOF AND SIDING DAMAGE. MUCH OF THE DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH
EF0 AND EF1...WITH MINOR ROOF AND SIDING DAMAGE.

ON THE WEST END OF THE HARVESTERS SUBDIVISION...THERE WAS AN
ISOLATED AREA WHERE DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH HIGH END EF2 TO LOW
END EF3. SEVERAL MULTI FAMILY HOMES WERE COMPLETELY
DESTROYED...WITH THE ENTIRE ROOF REMOVED AND AT LEAST ONE OUTER
WALL COLLAPSED...BUT SEVERAL INNER WALLS REMAINED INTACT. SUCH
DAMAGE IS CONSISTENT WITH WIND SPEEDS NEAR 135 MPH.

THE STORM CONTINUED THE EAST NORTHEAST PATH INTO SOUTHERN KENTON
COUNTY...WHERE THE 4 FATALITIES OCCURRED. HIGH END EF2 TO EF3
DAMAGE PERSISTED FROM DIXIE HIGHWAY...TO BAGBY ROAD...TO
CARLISLE...PARKERS GROVE AND PAXTON ROADS TO ROUTE 17. WHILE
ADDITIONAL DAMAGE OCCURRED EAST OF THIS AREA...IT WAS MORE
CONSISTENT WITH EF0 TO EF1 DAMAGE TO THE CAMPBELL COUNTY LINE.

WIDESPREAD STRUCTURAL DAMAGE OCCURRED THROUGH MUCH OF SOUTHERN
KENTON COUNTY...FROM INTERSTATE 75 THROUGH PINER. SEVERAL BRICK
FACADE AND SIDING HOMES HAD THE ENTIRE ROOF REMOVED...WITH WHOLE
SECTIONS OF HOME WIPED FROM THE FOUNDATION. THERE WERE AT LEAST
TWO HOMES WHICH WERE REMOVED FROM THE FOUNDATION. AT LEAST 3
VEHICLES WERE THROWN UP TO A QUARTER MILE OR MORE. SUCH DAMAGE IS
CONSISTENT WITH HIGH END EF3 DAMAGE...WITH WIND SPEEDS NEAR 160 MPH.

THE TORNADO PATH CONTINUED EASTWARD TO THE LICKING RIVER/CAMPBELL
COUNTY LINE.

IN ADDITION TO THE PATH OF THE TORNADO ITSELF...THERE WAS A WIDE
AREA OF REAR FLANK DOWNDRAFT /NON-TORNADIC/ WINDS ESTIMATED IN
EXCESS OF 100 MPH ALONG THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF THE TORNADO PATH.
THIS DAMAGE RESULTED IN NUMEROUS BARNS AND OUTBUILDINGS
DESTROYED...WITH HUNDREDS OF TREES SNAPPED OR PUSHED OVER...AS
WELL AS WIDESPREAD ROOF DAMAGE.

$$