Feb 29, 2012 Tornado Outbreak

Strong low pressure moving from southern Minnesota to central Wisconsin pushed a cold front into the Ohio Valley during the late morning and afternoon hours of Leap Day 2012. Temperatures were 10 to 15 degrees warmer than normal, in the 60s, with moist air flowing northward from the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, winds aloft were coming in from the west at speeds over 100 mph from southern Missouri to southern Indiana. The atmosphere became very unstable and storms erupted early in the day. By the time the event was over, six tornadoes had touched down in central Kentucky.

(We are unable to display the track maps at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience. For a basic, general track map see here.)

Russell/Casey Counties
Metcalfe County
1st LaRue County
2nd LaRue County
Hardin County

We also received the following photo, from other storms that formed that day (click on the image for a larger version):

A wall cloud in Marion County. Tony Ballard