2021 Western Kentucky tornado

{{main|Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021}}

File:Radar collage of a long-lived supercell radar on December 10-11, 2021.png that spawned a tornado family during the outbreak]]

On December 8, 2021, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) outlined a slight risk of severe weather across a broad area of the Mississippi Valley. Despite the potential for a higher-end severe threat to materialize, forecasters were uncertain about the extent of instability, degree of directional wind shear, and late timing of potential storms.{{cite web |author=Aaron Gleason |title=Dec 8, 2021 0830 UTC Day 3 Severe Thunderstorm Outlook |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2021/day3otlk_20211208_0830.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 8, 2021 |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=December 8, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208081836/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2021/day3otlk_20211208_0830.html |url-status=live}} The following day, the SPC noted an increased potential for organized severe thunderstorms in the region between southeastern Arkansas and southern Indiana, and upgraded that area to an enhanced risk.{{cite web |author=Aaron Gleason |title=Dec 9, 2021 0700 UTC Day 2 Convective Outlook |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2021/day2otlk_20211209_0700.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 9, 2021 |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211015225/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2021/day2otlk_20211209_0700.html |url-status=live}}

As an intense, upper-level trough progressed across the High Plains, with robust instability and moisture return across the Mississippi Valley, the SPC expanded the enhanced risk and introduced a moderate risk area from northeastern Arkansas into southern Illinois on the morning of December 10. Forecasters indicated atmospheric conditions favored the development of nocturnal supercells capable of producing long-tracked, strong tornadoes.{{cite web |author=Rich Thompson |author2=Matt Mosier |title=Dec 10, 2021 1630 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2021/day1otlk_20211210_1630.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213051614/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/outlook/archive/2021/day1otlk_20211210_1630.html |url-status=live}}

At 3:00 p.m. CST (21:00 UTC), the SPC issued a tornado watch across the highest-risk area: central and eastern Arkansas, west Tennessee, northwestern Mississippi, southeastern Missouri, and southern portions of Illinois and Indiana; it was the first of eleven such warnings issued over the next few hours for the middle Mississippi Valley.{{cite web |author=Rich Thompson |title=Tornado Watch 552 |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/2021/ww0552.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=December 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210211119/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/watch/2021/ww0552.html |url-status=live}} Initial storms developed across central Arkansas around 2:00 p.m. CST (20:00 UTC), and weaker activity developed over central Missouri around 90 minutes later. Additional clusters of thunderstorms developed over southwestern Missouri – forming between Bolivar and Carthage, eventually back-building into northeastern Oklahoma – and central Arkansas, forming southwest of Hot Springs, between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. CST (23:00–23:30 UTC).{{cite web |author=Brian Squitieri |author2=Jeremy Grams |title=Mesoscale Discussion 1984 |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1984.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212052718/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1984.html |url-status=live}} Though this activity lacked much vigor at its onset due to a strong capping inversion,{{cite web |author=Evan Bentley |title=Mesoscale Discussion 1982 |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1982.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211210230513/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1982.html |url-status=live}} the convective cells began to show organization as they progressed eastward.

One storm that formed from the initial mid-afternoon activity near Arkadelphia, Arkansas, matured into a long-lived supercell as it progressed in an unstable, deeply moist, and highly sheared environment.{{cite web |author=Brian Squitieri |author2=Jeremy Grams |title=Mesoscale Discussion 1986 |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1986.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211055036/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1986.html |url-status=live}} This cell persisted for more than {{convert |550 |mi |km}} over several hours from eastern Arkansas to northeastern Kentucky, producing eleven tornadoes, two of which were large and intense. The cell started showing signs of surface-based rotation southwest of Searcy, Arkansas, around 5:30 p.m. CST (23:30 UTC). At 5:51 p.m. CST, the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock issued the first tornado warning associated with the storm for portions of Jackson, Lawrence, White, and Woodruff counties.{{cite web |title=Tornado Warning (AR) #1 |url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0038/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110325 |publisher=National Weather Service Little Rock, Arkansas |via=Iowa Environmental Mesonet |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901234400/https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0038/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110325 |url-status=live}} One of the first tornadoes associated with the storm, an EF0, touched down in western Poinsett County near Weiner around 6:40 p.m. CST; about fifteen minutes later, storm spotters reported a large tornado near Greenfield, prompting a particularly dangerous situation (PDS) tornado warning for portions of Poinsett, Craighead, and Mississippi counties, including areas to the south of Jonesboro.{{cite web |title=Tornado Warning (AR) #2 |url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KMEG-TO-W-0060/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110035 |publisher=National Weather Service Little Rock, Arkansas |via=Iowa Environmental Mesonet |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901234400/https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KMEG-TO-W-0060/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110035 |url-status=live}}

Doppler radar analysis estimated the supercell maintained a nearly continuous, high-end rotational vorticity signature, averaging {{convert |94 |mph |km/h knot |abbr=on}} for approximately four hours and twenty minutes, a rarity among thunderstorms that produce mesocyclonic vorticity exceeding such speeds (averaging 1.5% of all supercells). The only velocities below said average recorded along the storm track were observed between 8:44 and 9:01 p.m. CST [02:44–3:01 UTC] as the storm crossed from Obion County, Tennessee, into Hickman County, Kentucky. This time frame coincides with the start of the Western Kentucky tornado, implying the supercell underwent a mesocyclone re-strengthening phase during this period. During this intense tornado's lifetime, peak gate-to-gate velocities of {{convert |128 |mph |km/h knot |abbr=on}} were recorded at 9:58 p.m. CST (04:58 UTC) over northeastern Marshall County, Kentucky.{{cite news |author=Dylan Moriarty |author2=Bonnie Berkowitz |author3=Zach Levitt |title=Deadly path: How tornadoes ripped through states |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/tornado-map-quadstate/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 11, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211233730/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/interactive/2021/tornado-map-quadstate/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |author=Jason Samenow |date=December 11, 2021 |title=December tornadoes aren't rare, but Friday's outbreak was something totally different |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/12/12/december-tornadoes-quad-state-outbreak/ |url-status=live |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212214748/https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/12/12/december-tornadoes-quad-state-outbreak/ |archive-date=December 12, 2021}}{{cite news |title=The record-breaking tornadoes that swept the United States, by the numbers |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/12/13/tornado-mayfield-kentucky-amazon/ |newspaper=The Washington Post LLC |date=December 13, 2021 |access-date=December 14, 2021 |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213232444/https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/12/13/tornado-mayfield-kentucky-amazon/ |url-status=live}}

Elsewhere, multiple lines of intense storms, some with embedded supercells, developed across the Mississippi Valley region through the night, and generated other strong, long-lived tornadoes.{{cite web |author=Evan Bentley |title=Mesoscale Discussion 1988 |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1988.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211020109/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1988.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |author=Brian Squitieri |author2=Jeremy Grams |title=Mesoscale Discussion 1998 |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1998.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211035121/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1998.html |url-status=live}} By the pre-dawn hours of December 11, a decrease in instability led to a gradual weakening of a line of thunderstorms along the associated cold front from eastern Kentucky southward into central Alabama.{{cite web |author=Elizabeth Leitman |title=Mesoscale Discussion 2018 |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md2018.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 11, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212052702/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md2018.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |author=Elizabeth Leitman |title=Mesoscale Discussion 2020 |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md2020.html |publisher=Storm Prediction Center |date=December 11, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211145032/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md2020.html |url-status=live}}

The SPC issued a record-setting 43 mesoscale discussions (MCDs) between 12:00 p.m. UTC December 10 and 12:00 p.m. UTC December 11, all of which were associated with the broader storm system: 38 of the MCDs issued were convective discussions relating to severe thunderstorm activity, and five were non-convective discussions relating to heavy snow associated with the system that concurrently fell across much of the Upper Midwest.{{cite web |author=Jared Guyer and Matt Elliott |title=An overview of the Mesoscale Discussions |url=https://twitter.com/JaredGuyer/status/1470233444663709697/photo/2 |publisher=twitter.com |date=December 12, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213084012/https://twitter.com/jaredguyer/status/1470233444663709697 |url-status=live}} Through the night, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued 149 tornado warnings across Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana.{{cite news |title=How Friday night's rare and deadly December tornado outbreak unfolded |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/how-friday-nights-rare-and-deadly-december-tornado-outbreak-unfolded/ |author1=Jason Samenow |author2=Ian Livingston |author3=Jacob Feuerstein |newspaper=The Washington Post LLC |via=The Seattle Times |date=December 11, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212181946/https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/how-friday-nights-rare-and-deadly-december-tornado-outbreak-unfolded/ |url-status=live}}

These included multiple PDS tornado warnings and tornado emergencies in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri. Eight of the tornado warnings issued by the NWS offices in Memphis, Tennessee, and Paducah, Kentucky, during the event were tornado emergencies, the most ever issued during the month of December, breaking the previous record of three issued on December 23, 2015.{{cite web |date=December 11, 2021 |title=Many trapped, two dead as tornado hits nursing home in Arkansas -media |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/many-trapped-two-dead-tornado-hits-nursing-home-arkansas-media-2021-12-11/ |access-date=December 11, 2021 |website=reuters.com |language=en |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211042134/https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/many-trapped-two-dead-tornado-hits-nursing-home-arkansas-media-2021-12-11/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title='Quad-State Tornado' crossed four states in four hours, a rare December tornado |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/quad-state-tornado-crossed-four-states-four-hours-leaving-trail-death-rcna8465 |author=Kathryn Prociv |author2=Nicole Acevedo |website=NBC News |date=December 11, 2021 |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212005805/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/quad-state-tornado-crossed-four-states-four-hours-leaving-trail-death-rcna8465 |url-status=live}}

Effects from the system responsible for the outbreak extended into Canada, where the Meteorological Service of Canada issued wind-and-heavy-rainfall warnings for portions of Ontario, but no tornadoes were expected or reported in Canada.{{cite news |title=Environment Canada issues wind warning for most of southern Ontario |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/8443120/wind-warning-environment-canada-southern-ontario/ |author=Kabi Moulitharan |website=Global News |publisher=Corus Entertainment |date=December 11, 2021 |access-date=December 16, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211150448/https://globalnews.ca/news/8443120/wind-warning-environment-canada-southern-ontario/ |url-status=live}}

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{{Wikisource|NOAA Storm Events Database – 2021 Western Kentucky tornado|NOAA's finalized damage survey and analysis for the tornado}}

File:Tornadic Debris lofted over 30,000 feet.jpg

The tornado touched down in Woodland Mills in Obion County, Tennessee, along Woodland Mills Road at 8:54 p.m. CST (02:54 UTC). It was produced by the same supercell that had produced another violent long-tracked tornado that affected northeast Arkansas, the Missouri Bootheel, and northwest Tennessee. After the dissipation of that tornado in Obion County northeast of Samburg, the supercell produced three weak, brief tornadoes before the Western Kentucky tornado formed several miles to the northeast.

The tornado initially moved through the north side of Woodland Mills, causing minor damage to roofs and trees, before crossing SR 5. After moving northeast for {{convert|1/2|mi|km|spell=in}}, rated EF0, it crossed the Tennessee–Kentucky state line near the community of State Line in Fulton County, causing additional tree damage. The total damage caused in Tennessee by the tornado was estimated at $25,000 (2021 USD).{{cite web |title=Storm Events Database 2021-12-10 20:54 CST-6 |url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=997426 |access-date=22 October 2022 |publisher=National Centers for Environmental Information}}

File:EF4 damage to a business in Cayce.jpg

Farther to the northeast, the tornado reached EF2 strength, tearing roofs off homes, damaging or destroying outbuildings, damaging irrigation equipment, and ripping apart trailer homes. Soon after, the tornado became violent and directly impacted the small community of Cayce at low-end EF4 intensity, where homes and small businesses were damaged or destroyed, some of which were leveled or swept from their foundations. A music venue in a former school building was badly damaged, and the Cayce Volunteer Fire Department building was destroyed; the metal beams of the structure severely twisted as pieces of heavy machinery were tossed around. Several outbuildings and mobile homes were also destroyed. One person died in Cayce and several others were injured.{{cite web |title=Damage Assessment Toolkit |url=https://apps.dat.noaa.gov/StormDamage/DamageViewer/ |publisher=National Weather Service |access-date=December 16, 2021 |archive-date=April 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423095631/https://apps.dat.noaa.gov/stormdamage/damageviewer/ |url-status=live }}

After moving to the northeast of Cayce, the tornado weakened but remained strong as it moved at EF3 intensity through rural areas to the northeast of the town, destroying barns and a cell tower, and tearing the roof and exterior walls from a house. The tornado moved into Hickman County and appeared to dramatically intensify as it crossed US 51, where extreme ground scouring occurred in nearby fields. The tornado scoured trenches into the ground, removing all grass and several inches of topsoil in the worst affected areas.{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/brianemfinger/status/1473055357559791627 |title=Some ground scouring along Hwy 51 between Clinton and Fulton, KY |last=Emfinger |first=Brian |date=December 20, 2021 |website=twitter.com |publisher=Twitter |access-date=January 4, 2022 |quote="Some ground scouring along Hwy 51 between Clinton and Fulton, KY" |archive-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104051842/https://twitter.com/brianemfinger/status/1473055357559791627 |url-status=live }} No structures were impacted near US 51 and no rating was applied to the scouring. EF3 damage continued past this point as homes and metal truss towers were destroyed. EF2 damage was noted as it tracked into Graves County, closely paralleling Purchase Parkway and US 45, and moving directly toward the city of Mayfield. The roof of a house along KY 339 was torn off, and many trees and power poles were downed in this area.{{cite web|url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0038/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110325|title=Tornado Emergency For Mayfield|date=December 10, 2021|access-date=December 11, 2021|publisher=National Weather Service Forecast Office in Paducah, Kentucky|website=Iowa Environmental Mesonet|archive-date=September 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901234400/https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0038/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110325|url-status=live}}

File:Urban Search and Rescue Team IN-TF1 DOD 108727472.webm

The National Weather Service issued a tornado emergency for Mayfield at 9:26 p.m. CST (03:26 UTC) as the now massive wedge tornado approached the town from the southwest. As the tornado entered Mayfield, it regained EF4 intensity, and numerous homes along Cardinal Road were damaged or destroyed; some houses were leveled or swept from their foundations. Trees in the area were debarked and denuded, cars were thrown, and mobile homes were destroyed. EF4 damage continued after the tornado crossed over Mayfield Bypass (US 45 Bypass/I-69), where Mayfield Consumer Products, a candle factory where approximately 110 employees were working, was flattened.{{Cite web|title=At least 70 feared dead in Kentucky as tornadoes rip through swaths of U.S.|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/2-dead-arkansas-possible-tornadoes-heavy-weather-strike-us-rcna8451|access-date=December 12, 2021|website=NBC News|date=December 12, 2021 |language=en|archive-date=December 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212001636/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/2-dead-arkansas-possible-tornadoes-heavy-weather-strike-us-rcna8451|url-status=live}}{{cite news |first1=Heather |last1=Brinkmann |title=Catastrophic tornado damage reported in Mayfield, Kentucky |url=https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/catastrophic-tornado-damage-reported-in-mayfield-kentucky |access-date=December 11, 2021 |agency=Fox Weather |date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211055323/https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/catastrophic-tornado-damage-reported-in-mayfield-kentucky |url-status=live }} The large, metal-framed warehouse building collapsed, trapping employees, and resulting in eight deaths and numerous injuries.{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-business-arkansas-kentucky-mayfield-b6ef6a901cc2e4552e760a36c749937c|title=Thousands without heat, water after tornadoes kill dozens|date=December 13, 2021|website=AP News|access-date=December 13, 2021|archive-date=December 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213202224/https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-business-arkansas-kentucky-mayfield-b6ef6a901cc2e4552e760a36c749937c|url-status=live}}{{cite news|first1=Bob|last1=D'Angelo|first2=Theresa|last2=Seiger|first3=Natalie|last3=Dreier|date=December 13, 2021|title=Kentucky tornadoes: 8 confirmed dead at candle factory, 8 still missing|agency=KOKI-TV|url=https://www.fox23.com/news/trending/least-50-feared-dead-after-tornadoes-rip-through-western-kentucky/3KMWOLKRWFDYZMITAUGOJFZBYU/|access-date=December 13, 2021|archive-date=December 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211182818/https://www.fox23.com/news/trending/least-50-feared-dead-after-tornadoes-rip-through-western-kentucky/3KMWOLKRWFDYZMITAUGOJFZBYU/|url-status=live}} Allegedly, workers' jobs had been threatened if they left the factory between the first and second tornado warnings for the area{{snd}}a tornado warning had been issued at approximately 5:30 p.m. CST that evening{{snd}}and again after the second tornado warning was issued after 9:00 p.m. CST.{{Cite web|title=Factory workers threatened with firing if they left before tornado, employees say|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-tornado-factory-workers-threatened-firing-left-tornado-employ-rcna8581|access-date=December 13, 2021|website=NBC News|language=en|archive-date=December 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213211030/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-tornado-factory-workers-threatened-firing-left-tornado-employ-rcna8581|url-status=live}} Several nearby industrial businesses were also damaged or destroyed, while semi-trucks and other industrial vehicles were thrown and destroyed, some being left unrecognizable.

File:First National Bank Mayfield CCTV.webm

After briefly weakening to EF3 intensity, the tornado again intensified, reaching just below high-end EF4 intensity as it moved along US 45 and tore through the center of Mayfield, resulting in widespread, catastrophic damage throughout the historic downtown square that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its late-Victorian and Classical Revival architecture.{{Cite web|date=December 11, 2021|title=Deadly tornadoes, storms strike US; roof collapse at Amazon|url=https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-kentucky-illinois-arkansas-severe-weather-67b9acfb9d83e2e7139ae9de01618a21|access-date=December 11, 2021|website=AP NEWS|language=en|archive-date=December 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211124308/https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-kentucky-illinois-arkansas-severe-weather-67b9acfb9d83e2e7139ae9de01618a21|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |last=Krauth |first=Olivia |date=December 12, 2021 |title=Kentucky tornado death toll: 80 people have been confirmed dead after storms by officials |work=Louisville Courier Journal |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2021/12/12/kentucky-tornado-death-toll-how-many-confirmed-dead/6484769001/ |access-date=March 7, 2023}} Most of the structures in downtown Mayfield were heavily damaged or destroyed, including large, well-built, multi-story, brick buildings that collapsed. Only large piles of bricks and lumber remained in the hardest-hit portions of the downtown area, and streets were left buried under debris. The large, well-constructed Graves County Courthouse had much of its roof torn off, its clock tower collapsed, and some of its exterior upper-floor walls were demolished.{{cite news |first1=Catlin |last1=Bogard |title=Severe tornado hits Mayfield, Kentucky, destroying buildings; Police say loss of life 'expected' |url=https://www.newschannel5.com/news/severe-tornado-hits-mayfield-kentucky-destroying-buildings-police-say-loss-of-life-expected |access-date=December 11, 2021 |agency=WTVF |date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211061845/https://www.newschannel5.com/news/severe-tornado-hits-mayfield-kentucky-destroying-buildings-police-say-loss-of-life-expected |url-status=live }} Several restaurants, an indoor soccer facility, a barber shop, automotive business, a gym, a bank, a movie theater, a health-and-rehab center, and many other businesses in downtown Mayfield were destroyed. Large metal silos were crumpled and heavily damaged at a granary, and the large Mayfield water tower was toppled and destroyed. The post office, city hall, fire station, and police station were significantly damaged or destroyed, and the emergency operations center lost the ability to transmit radio communications. Three large churches were destroyed in downtown Mayfield, including the First Presbyterian Church: a large, well-built brick structure that was mostly leveled. The domed roof and upper walls of the First Christian Church collapsed, as did the sanctuary of the First United Methodist Church, which was constructed with very thick, masonry, exterior walls. A school bus garage, metal industrial buildings, and apartment buildings in other parts of the town were damaged or destroyed. The tornado also devastated residential areas of the town, levelling or sweeping numerous homes from their foundations. Many trees were denuded and debarked, and cars were thrown hundreds of yards and mangled. Dual polarization radar imagery showed the tornado had lofted debris up to {{convert|30,000|ft|m}} as it impacted the city.{{Cite news |last1=Samenow |first1=Jason |last2=Feuerstein |first2=Jacob |last3=Livingston |first3=Ian |date=December 11, 2021 |title=How Friday night's rare and deadly December tornado outbreak unfolded |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/12/11/tornado-path-mayfield-kentucky-deaths/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924164127/https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/12/11/tornado-path-mayfield-kentucky-deaths/ |archive-date=September 24, 2022 |quote=As the tornado blasted through Mayfield, Ky., it sheared entire homes off their foundations and lofted debris more than 30,000 feet into the air, indicative of a twister of top-tier intensity.}} Twenty-two people were killed in and around Mayfield, and hundreds more were injured, many severely.{{cite news|first1=Karla|last1=Ward|title='Multiple fatalities' in Kentucky after tornado outbreak|url=https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article256508126.html|newspaper=Lexington Herald Ledger|date=December 11, 2021|access-date=December 11, 2021|archive-date=December 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213051641/https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article256508126.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://foxlexington.com/video/businesses-destroyed-by-mayfield-tornado/7228854/ |title=Business destroyed by Mayfield tornado |date=December 13, 2021 |website=foxlexington.com |publisher=Fox News |access-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104063746/https://foxlexington.com/video/businesses-destroyed-by-mayfield-tornado/7228854/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.wlky.com/article/kentucky-tornado-update-death-toll-storm-track-impact-dec-20/38572217# |title=Kentucky tornado updates: Death toll now 76; another Mayfield candle factory worker dies |date=December 22, 2021 |website=wlky.com |publisher=WLKY |access-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104063746/https://www.wlky.com/article/kentucky-tornado-update-death-toll-storm-track-impact-dec-20/38572217 |url-status=live }} The tornado's winds peaked at {{convert|188|mph|kph|abbr=on}} in the city.

After leaving Mayfield, the tornado weakened, producing damage at EF2 to EF3 strength, and continued northeast along I-69 and KY 58. A hangar and some small airplanes were destroyed at Mayfield Graves County Airport, and homes, a nearby church, and a business were damaged. Further weakening occurred as the tornado continued moving northeast, and EF0 to EF1 damage to trees and structures occurred. It intensified again as it approached and crossed the Marshall County line along I-69 before moving through the northwestern and northern outskirts of Benton, damaging or destroying homes, garages, and outbuildings; downing trees and power lines; and flipping RV campers. Most of the damage through this section of Marshall County ranged in intensity from EF2 to EF3, though a few homes to the southwest of Benton were leveled or swept from their foundations at high-end EF3 strength.{{cite web|url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0040/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110345|title=Tornado Emergency For Benton|date=December 10, 2021|access-date=December 11, 2021|publisher=National Weather Service Forecast Office in Paducah, Kentucky|website=Iowa Environmental Mesonet|archive-date=September 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901234400/https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0040/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110345|url-status=live}} The tornado then moved into Briensburg at EF2 intensity; houses near and along US 68 sustained partial-to-total roof loss, outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, and a metal truss transmission tower collapsed. Past Briensburg, EF3 damage occurred along Lowery Road, where a poorly anchored house was leveled, and some other homes sustained EF2 damage.

The tornado again reached EF4 intensity as it moved through the small community of Cambridge Shores, which is located along the western shore of Kentucky Lake. Numerous homes were in the community, including large lakeside houses, were leveled or swept from their foundations. Large trees were snapped, denuded, and debarked, and vehicles were thrown. The roof of a fire department building was torn off and large, metal, boat-storage buildings were destroyed. The tornado then weakened but remained strong as it crossed Kentucky Lake into Lyon County and traversed the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, leveling a large swath of trees and snapping power poles at EF2 strength as it passed near Twin Lakes before crossing Lake Barkley. After crossing Lake Barkley, the tornado strengthened back to EF3 intensity, and crossed KY 93 and I-24 near the lake's eastern shore, where many homes sustained major damage or were destroyed, and several houses were leveled or swept from their foundations.

File:DawsonSpringsDamageIMG 0285.jpg

Soon after, the tornado again explosively intensified and crossed into Caldwell County along KY 293, producing EF4 damage as it impacted the southern edge of Princeton, where another tornado emergency was issued.{{cite web|url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0042/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110415|title=Tornado Emergency For Princeton, KY|date=December 10, 2021|access-date=December 11, 2021|publisher=National Weather Service Forecast Office in Paducah, Kentucky|website=Iowa Environmental Mesonet|archive-date=September 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901234400/https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0042/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110415|url-status=live}} {{convert|2|mi|km|spell=In|abbr=out}} before impacting Princeton, the tornado hit and destroyed a Kentucky mesonet station, which recorded {{convert|120.1|mph|km/h}} winds, setting the new record for the highest-measured wind gust in Kentucky history. Within two-miles, the tornado intensified a minimum of {{convert|60|mph|km/h}}.{{cite web |last1=Reaugh |first1=Tom |title=SCEC Report for Kentucky Maximum Wind Gust December 10, 2021 |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/monitoring-content/extremes/scec/reports/20220328-Kentucky-Strongest-Wind-Gust.pdf |publisher=National Centers for Environmental Information & National Weather Service |access-date=15 April 2024 |date=23 March 2022}} In Princeton, dozens of houses along the southern and southeastern fringes of town were destroyed, especially at the Princeton Golf and Country Club subdivision, where several houses were leveled or swept away. The University of Kentucky Research Center was destroyed; metal roof trusses were carried hundreds of yards from the structure and wrapped around trees. Cars were thrown from the parking lot into adjacent fields, metal light poles were ripped from their concrete footings, and ground scouring occurred.{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/ChrisJacksonSC/status/1470195144452456453 |title=We're out here at the UK Research Center in Princeton and this is the most intense tornado damage I've ever seen in my life |last=Jackson |first=Chris |date=December 12, 2021 |website=twitter.com |publisher=Twitter |access-date=January 5, 2021 |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213005531/https://twitter.com/ChrisJacksonSC/status/1470195144452456453 |url-status=live }}{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS).|date=April 2023}} In and around Princeton, trees were stripped of their limbs and partially debarked, barns and farm buildings were destroyed, livestock was killed, and cycloidal markings were left in fields outside the town. Four deaths and numerous injuries occurred in Princeton. The tornado then followed US 62, producing EF2 to EF3 damage to homes in the small communities of Lewistown and Midway.

File:Dawson springs EF4 (2).jpg

Past Midway, the tornado became violent and again reached EF4 intensity as it moved along US 62, causing catastrophic damage as it entered the city of Dawson Springs, located along the Caldwell–Hopkins county line. A fourth tornado emergency was in effect for Dawson Springs and St. Charles as the storm moved through the area. In residential areas in northern Dawson Springs, entire blocks of homes were destroyed, and many houses were leveled or swept from their foundations. Cars were thrown, copious amounts of structural debris was strewn in all directions, countless trees were shredded and debarked, and only rubble remained in the hardest-hit neighborhoods. The Dawson Village apartment complex was destroyed and several two-story, brick apartment buildings sustained EF4 damage, being largely reduced to rubble with only a few first-floor interior walls left intact. Meteorologists Timothy Marshall and Brian E. Smith, and structural and forensic engineer Christine L Wielglos, later published a damage survey from Dawson Springs that rated the apartment complex as mid-EF3 intensity with winds estimated at {{convert |155 |mph |km/h}} due to structural flaws that were found.{{cite journal |last1=Marshall |first1=Timothy |title=Damage Survey of the Mayfield, KY Tornado: 10 December 2021 |journal=30th Conference of Severe Local Storms |date=January 2022 |url=https://www.academia.edu/90132303 |access-date=17 November 2022}} Vehicles were thrown into piles in the parking lot of the complex. Several duplexes at Clarkdale Court were destroyed, including one that was leveled with only a pile of debris remaining. An American Legion post and a car wash were flattened, and a church and a medical clinic sustained major damage. Some logistics facilities and warehouses in an industrial park were leveled as the tornado exited the city, as were several metal self-storage-unit buildings and large garages nearby.{{cite web |url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0044/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110430 |title=Tornado Emergency For Dawson Springs and St. Charles |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 11, 2021 |publisher=National Weather Service Forecast Office in Paducah, Kentucky |website=Iowa Environmental Mesonet |archive-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901234400/https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0044/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110430 |url-status=live}}

Fourteen people were killed in the Dawson Springs area and many others were injured. A mother and her two children survived with major injuries by hanging on to a mattress as they were thrown {{convert |250 |feet |m |abbr=out}} through the air into a field after the tornado swept their Dawson Springs home from its foundation after crushing them underneath it first.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/13/us/dawson-springs-kentucky-tornado-survivor/index.html |title=Dawson Springs mother clutched her 2 kids in bed when the storm lifted her mattress into the air |last=Lavandera |first=Ed |date=December 13, 2021 |work=CNN |access-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105093406/https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/13/us/dawson-springs-kentucky-tornado-survivor/index.html |url-status=live }} A photograph from a destroyed house in Dawson Springs was lofted and transported almost {{convert |130 |mi |km}} by the intense tornadic updrafts, eventually being found in New Albany, Indiana.{{Cite news |last=Schneider |first=Mike |date=December 12, 2021 |title=Photo from tornado-damaged home lands almost 130 miles away |work=The Seattle Times |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/photo-from-tornado-damaged-home-lands-almost-130-miles-away/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212231831/https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/photo-from-tornado-damaged-home-lands-almost-130-miles-away/ |archive-date=December 12, 2021}} South-southwest of Dawson Springs, a group of storm chasers photographed a possible satellite tornado associated with the parent tornado, but the National Weather Service did not confirm this.{{cite web |title=1.) It's completely possible that the December 10th tornado in WKY contained either a satellite tornado, or underwent a vortex merger in Dawson Springs. (Photo from @MeanMotionMedia ) shows a possible second vortex to the left. |url=https://twitter.com/LoopsSr/status/1598707392413409283 |website=Twitter |publisher=@LoopsSr |access-date=2 December 2022}}{{cite web |last1=Conley |first1=Chris |title=This is looking SSW just as the tornado was entering Dawson Springs. This is a screen grab from video on my dash camera. I bailed eastward about 15 seconds later. |url=https://twitter.com/MeanMotionMedia/status/1598734885883187218 |website=Twitter |publisher=@MeanMotionMedia |access-date=2 December 2022}}

File:BarnsleyFreightCar2021.jpg

Beyond Dawson Springs, the tornado tracked to the northeast, passing north of Ilsley and through the rural community of Carbondale, weakening slightly to high-end EF3 strength but continuing to cause major damage. Farm outbuildings and mobile homes were demolished, and houses sustained major damage or were destroyed. Additional high-end EF3 damage occurred and another tornado emergency was issued as it moved through Barnsley, just south of Earlington and Helca, and just north of Mortons Gap.{{cite web |url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0046/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110440 |title=Tornado Emergency For Earlington and Afton, KY |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 11, 2021 |publisher=National Weather Service Forecast Office in Paducah, Kentucky |website=Iowa Environmental Mesonet |archive-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901234400/https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0046/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110440 |url-status=live}} Almost every house in the small community was damaged or destroyed, including some that were leveled, though they were not well-constructed. A train on the CSX Henderson Subdivision adjacent to US 41 in the town was derailed, as were 25 multi-ton freight cars, several of which were thrown from the tracks and one was tossed into a house.{{cite web |url=https://www.courierpress.com/story/news/local/2021/12/11/tornado-derails-train-earlington-ky-1-car-going-house/6475573001/ |title=Kentucky tornado derails a train in Hopkins County; one car lands on home |date=December 11, 2021 |publisher=Evansville Courier & Press |access-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212004023/https://eu.courierpress.com/story/news/local/2021/12/11/tornado-derails-train-earlington-ky-1-car-going-house/6475573001/ |url-status=live |first=Mark | last=Wilson}} Thousands of large trees were downed and vehicles were flipped. Past Barnsley, the tornado crossed over the CSX Cut-Off Main line and I-69 before passing through an unpopulated, swampy area, where large trees were snapped or uprooted, and damage was rated EF2.

Continuing into northern Muhlenberg County, another tornado emergency was issued for the community of Bremen as the tornado approached from the southwest. It abruptly intensified to its peak intensity of high-end EF4 with {{convert |190 |mph |kph |abbr=on}} winds as it crossed and paralleled KY 175 through the north side of town. Many homes were destroyed along this portion of its path, including several that were completely swept away with little debris remaining. Large trees were denuded and debarked, grass was scoured from the ground, and vehicles were thrown through the air and mangled. Some of the worst damage in Bremen occurred along Bethlehem Cemetery Road, where a row of four homes were completely swept away with only their foundations remaining, and debris was scattered and wind-rowed long distances through fields across the street. Concrete floor slabs were torn from the foundation of one home and shattered, while the paved driveway of another residence was cracked and scoured. Houses that were farther away from the center of the damage path sustained roof-and-exterior-wall loss, and mobile homes, barns, garages, and other outbuildings were also destroyed. At Bethlehem Baptist Church, a brick exterior wall was blown out and was shifted slightly off of its foundation, while Church Street General Baptist Church lost much of its roof.{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/JumpWx/status/1470797320468013068 |title=Before and after photos from a newly constructed home in Bremen. The concrete foundation was scoured away. Photos by Jeff Stevens on facebook |date=December 14, 2021 |website=twitter.com |publisher=Twitter |access-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-date=January 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106023216/https://twitter.com/JumpWx/status/1470797320468013068 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/SimonStormRider/status/1473016641005002759 |title=Tragic tornado damage to neighborhood on NW side of Bremen, KY |last=Brewer |first=Simon |date=December 14, 2021 |website=twitter.com |publisher=Twitter |access-date=January 5, 2022 |quote="new/thick driveway buckled" |archive-date=January 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106023219/https://twitter.com/SimonStormRider/status/1473016641005002759 |url-status=live }} Eleven people were killed in and around Bremen, and others were injured.{{cite web |url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0048/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110455 |title=Tornado Emergency For Bremen, KY |date=December 10, 2021 |access-date=December 11, 2021 |publisher=National Weather Service Forecast Office in Paducah, Kentucky |website=Iowa Environmental Mesonet |archive-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901234400/https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2021-O-NEW-KPAH-TO-W-0048/USCOMP-N0Q-202112110455 |url-status=live}} Among the fatalities was District Judge Brian Crick, who represented Muhlenberg and McLean counties, as confirmed in a statement from the Supreme Court of Kentucky on December 11.{{cite news |author1=WLKY Digital Team |title=Kentucky district judge confirmed dead in tornado outbreak |url=https://www.wlky.com/article/kentucky-district-judge-confirmed-dead-in-tornado-outbreak/38491906# |access-date=December 12, 2021 |agency=WLKY |date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212034658/https://www.wlky.com/article/kentucky-district-judge-confirmed-dead-in-tornado-outbreak/38491906 |url-status=live }} After the tornado left Bremen, some weakening occurred; it crossed US 431 south of Stroud, where some houses and mobile homes were damaged or destroyed, and hundreds of large trees were snapped and denuded. Damage in this area was rated EF2 to low-end EF3.

File:Hartford KY tornado damage.jpg

While passing near the Muhlenberg–McLean county line, the tornado weakened substantially as it crossed into Ohio County at 11:10 p.m. (05:10 UTC), producing EF1 damage as it traversed rugged, hilly terrain to the west of Centertown. It moved through an abandoned coal-strip mine, overturning a large section of a coal conveyor belt, snapping trees, and downing power poles. A few farm outbuildings in this area were also damaged or destroyed. The tornado again strengthened north of Centertown along KY 85, producing EF2 damage; houses and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, including a well-built house where much of the roof was torn off and an exterior wall collapsed. Five large chicken houses were destroyed, and hundreds of large, hardwood trees along a {{convert|1/4|mile|m|abbr=out|adj=on|spell=in}}-wide swath along this section of the path were snapped and uprooted. Weakening back to EF1 intensity, the tornado downed trees along Carter Ferry Road and Mud College Road.

The tornado entered a flatter area to the west of Hartford and began to intensify once more; large, steel, power poles were bent over or broken along Johnson School Road, earning an EF3 rating. North of Hartford, the tornado crossed US 231, I-165, and KY 69, and crossed the Rough River three times. Homes and businesses sustained significant EF3 damage in this area; two tractor-trailers were lifted and thrown {{convert|40|yd|m}}, and one of the cabs was poorly mangled. Houses, large barns, garages, a small, brick office structure, very large silos, and a fertilizer storage facility were destroyed.{{cite web|agency=National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Louisville, Kentucky|title=NWS Damage Survey for 12/10/2021 Tornado Event – Ohio/Breckinridge/Grayson County Kentucky Tornado|url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?pil=PNSLMK&e=202112152215|publisher=Iowa Environmental Mesonet|date=December 15, 2021|access-date=December 16, 2021|archive-date=December 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215223619/https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?pil=PNSLMK&e=202112152215|url-status=live}} The last area of EF3-strength damage occurred along KY 69 and Utley Drive northeast of Hartford, where a poorly anchored, block-foundation home was swept away and destroyed, and other houses nearby lost their roofs and exterior walls. Two anchored mobile homes were swept away and destroyed, with their frames tossed and bent, and one was thrown {{convert|100|yd|m}}. An RV camper in this area was thrown {{convert|30|yd|m}}, landing upside down; tractors and large hay bales were also thrown considerable distances. Damage of up to high-end EF2 intensity occurred beyond this point as the tornado crossed Humble Valley Road, Halls Creek Road, and Mount Vernon Road before passing north of Olaton. Homes were significantly damaged, barns and mobile homes were destroyed, a cow was killed, and thousands of large hardwood trees were downed. The tornado paralleled the Ohio–Grayson county line and very briefly crossed a bend in the Rough River into Grayson County. Hundreds of trees along Cane Ford Road were downed and an abandoned trailer home was destroyed.

The tornado then crossed KY 54, where the last area of EF2 damage occurred, as a frail home was destroyed and left with only a few walls standing. Large trees were snapped and one of them fell on and destroyed a car. Some outbuildings in this area were also damaged or destroyed. Entering Breckinridge County at EF1 intensity, the tornado paralleled the Breckinridge–Grayson county line and crossed KY 110 northwest of Falls of Rough. Hundreds of trees in the area were downed and two structures sustained minor damage. The tornado downed power lines as it crossed KY 79 at EF0 strength, damaged a large boat-storage facility and scattered sheet metal debris across the runway of a small airport {{convert|300|yd|m}} to the northeast. Some additional minor tree damage occurred before the tornado dissipated near Park Drive in Grayson County at 11:48 p.m. CST (5:48 UTC) as it entered Rough River Dam State Resort Park near Rough River Lake, approximately {{convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} west of McDaniels.

The tornado reached a peak width of {{convert|2600|yd|m}} and was on the ground for nearly three hours, tracking {{convert|165.6|mi|km}} from Woodland Mills to Rough River Dam State Resort Park. The path was the ninth longest in recorded history.{{cite web |title=2021 Severe Weather: Year-In-Review |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/media/year-in-review/?fbclid=IwAR3qqArRy6wMPgmU8jfuWjJumAs0U3I-2q-9VQcEAmOHE6mEkB6lQZc2soE |website=Storm Prediction Center |publisher=National Weather Service |access-date=14 January 2022 |language=EN-US |archive-date=January 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220114152131/https://www.spc.noaa.gov/media/year-in-review/?fbclid=IwAR3qqArRy6wMPgmU8jfuWjJumAs0U3I-2q-9VQcEAmOHE6mEkB6lQZc2soE |url-status=live }} It was rated high-end EF4 with an estimated peak wind speed of {{convert|190|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}. It directly caused 57 deaths, making it the deadliest single tornado in the United States since the Joplin, Missouri tornado on May 22, 2011. One person died as a result of a heart attack while clearing debris; this 58th death is listed as indirect.

{{See also|EF5 drought|Disagreements on the intensity of tornadoes}}

In 2022, Timothy Marshall, a meteorologist, structural and forensic engineer; Zachary B. Wienhoff, with Haag Engineering Company; Christine L. Wielgos, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service of Paducah; and Brian E. Smith, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service of Omaha, published a damage survey of portions of the tornado's track, particularly through Mayfield and Dawson Springs. The report notes: "the tornado damage rating might have been higher had more wind resistant structures been encountered. Also, the fast forward speed of the tornado had little 'dwell' time of strong winds over a building and thus, the damage likely would have been more severe if the tornado were slower."{{cite journal |author1=Timothy P. Marshall (Haag Engineering Company) |author2=Zachary B. Wienhoff (Haag Engineering Company) |author3=Brian E. Smith (NOAA/NWS) |author4=Christine L. Wielgos (NOAA/NWS) |title=Damage Survey of the Mayfield, KY Tornado: 10 December 2021 |journal=Academia.edu |date=January 2023 |pages=1–13 |url=https://www.academia.edu/90132303 |access-date=19 January 2023}} Marshall later stated in 2023 that the Western Kentucky tornado was "the closest to EF5 that I can remember" since the Moore EF5 of 2013.{{cite news |last1=Livingston |first1=Ian |title=There's a record drought in the scariest tornadoes. Still be scared. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/05/22/tornado-drought-record-moore-ef5/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=5 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205040739/https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/05/22/tornado-drought-record-moore-ef5/ |archive-date=5 December 2023 |language=English |date=22 May 2023 |quote=Marshall was on one of three teams to survey the Mayfield EF4 and it was "the closest to EF5 that I can remember" since the Moore EF5 of 2013, he said. But as the surveying teams could not find EF5 damage consistent with winds of at least 200 mph, the tornado was ultimately ranked just shy of that mark, with 190 mph winds. Some buildings where the storm's most violent winds struck were completely obliterated, but they were so poorly constructed it was impossible to know if EF5 winds affected them. "They were horribly constructed and could not resist 100 or even 150 mph wind let alone 200 mph," Marshall said. |url-status=live}} Marshall also stated some of the buildings struck by the strongest winds "were horribly constructed and could not resist 100 or even 150 mph wind let alone 200 mph", meaning it was "impossible to know if EF5 winds affected them".

On January 23, 2025, Anthony W. Lyza with the National Severe Storms Laboratory along with Harold E. Brooks and Makenzie J. Kroca with the University of Oklahoma’s School of Meteorology published a paper to the American Meteorological Society, where they stated the tornado in Mayfield was an "EF5 candidate" and opined that the EF5 starting wind speed should be {{convert|190|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} instead of {{convert|201|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.{{cite journal |last1=Lyza |first1=Anthony W. |last2=Brooks |first2=Harold E. |last3=Krocak |first3=Makenzie J. |title=Where Have the EF5s Gone? A Closer Look at the “Drought” of the Most Violent Tornadoes in the United States |journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |date=23 January 2025 |doi=10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0066.1 |url=https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/bams/aop/BAMS-D-24-0066.1/BAMS-D-24-0066.1.xml |access-date=2 February 2025 |publisher=American Meteorological Society}}

{{clear}}

{{Expand section|date=February 2023}}

File:Mayfield KY State Farm CRU -23.jpg

The tornado directly killed 57 people and resulted in 519 injuries; it was the deadliest tornado ever recorded in the United States in the month of December, and the deadliest tornado since 2011.{{cite report|url=https://www.weather.gov/pah/December-10th-11th-2021-Tornado|title=The Violent Tornado Outbreak of December 10-11, 2021|publisher=National Weather Service}} In Graves County, 24 people died and more than 200 were injured; fifteen died in Hopkins County, eleven in Muhlenberg County, four in Caldwell County, and one person each in Fulton, Marshall, and Lyon counties. A 58th victim suffered a heart attack while clearing debris and is listed as an indirect fatality.

The tornado produced profound destruction in multiple communities. In Mayfield, according to the National Weather Service, more than 4,000 structures were damaged or destroyed; this included 3,778 residences, 183 commercial buildings, and 103 other structures. The tornado destroyed primarily low-income rental housing units, leading to a depleted stock of affordable housing in the city; Mayfield Housing Authority reported it had more than 700 requests for one-bedroom units almost a year after the tornado.{{Cite news |last=Niemeyer |first=Liam |date=December 2, 2022 |title=Kentucky tornado survivors living in limbo nearly one year later |work=WKMS |url=https://www.wkms.org/housing/2022-12-02/kentucky-tornado-survivors-living-in-limbo-nearly-one-year-later |url-status=live |access-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218181938/https://www.wkms.org/housing/2022-12-02/kentucky-tornado-survivors-living-in-limbo-nearly-one-year-later |archive-date=December 18, 2022}}

In Marshall County, containing the heavily damaged community of Cambridge Shores, 356 structures were destroyed or made uninhabitable, and 341 more sustained light or moderate damage.

On December 11, 2021, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency for parts of western Kentucky; it was followed that day by U.S. president Joe Biden's approval of a federal emergency disaster declaration for the state of Kentucky.{{cite news |first1=Evan |last1=Hatter |date=December 11, 2021 |title=Governor Andy Beshear declares a State of Emergency after Western Kentucky tornadoes |agency=WYMT-TV |url=https://www.wymt.com/2021/12/11/governor-andy-beshear-declares-state-emergency-after-western-kentucky-tornadoes/ |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211060608/https://www.wymt.com/2021/12/11/governor-andy-beshear-declares-state-emergency-after-western-kentucky-tornadoes/ |url-status=live}} Beshear also announced the creation of a tornado relief fund and asked people to donate blood because stocks of blood was running low throughout the COVID 19 pandemic. On December 15, Mayor of Mayfield Kathy Stewart O'Nan said that recovery efforts would continue.{{Cite web |last=Schnell |first=Mychael |date=December 12, 2021 |title=Mayfield, Ky., mayor: 'There's always hope. We hope for a miracle' |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/585453-mayfield-mayor-theres-always-hope-we-hope-for-a-miracle |access-date=December 15, 2021 |website=The Hill |language=en |archive-date=December 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215001501/https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/585453-mayfield-mayor-theres-always-hope-we-hope-for-a-miracle |url-status=live}} The NWS office in Paducah requested mental-health officers be present to assist meteorologists for potential trauma from assessing the tornado's path of devastation.{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Krista |date=December 13, 2021 |title=Was the tornado that hit Mayfield an EF5? Here's how the National Weather Service decides. |work=Louisville Courier Journal |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2021/12/13/surveying-kentucky-mayfield-tornado-storm-meteorologists-follow-path-destruction/6491956001/ |access-date=March 7, 2023}}

On December 12, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas visited areas of Graves and Marshall counties, met with emergency management officials and responders, and held a media briefing with Governor Beshear.{{Cite web |date=December 12, 2021 |title=ICYMI - FEMA Administrator, DHS Secretary Tour Kentucky Tornado Damage |url=https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20211212/icymi-fema-administrator-dhs-secretary-tour-kentucky-tornado-damage |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213154902/https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20211212/icymi-fema-administrator-dhs-secretary-tour-kentucky-tornado-damage |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |access-date=March 7, 2023 |website=FEMA.gov}} Their visit was followed on December 15 by a visit from President Biden, who flew to Kentucky and toured Mayfield and Dawson Springs, meeting survivors. Describing the damage as "almost beyond belief", Biden announcement the disaster declaration had been amended to have the federal government pay the entire cost of debris removal, and overtime for law enforcement and emergency personnel for the next month.{{Cite news |last=Tankersley |first=Jim |date=2021-12-15 |title=Touring Kentucky, Biden Vows 'Whatever It Takes' to Recover From Storms |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/us/politics/biden-kentucky-tornado.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316222128/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/15/us/politics/biden-kentucky-tornado.html |archive-date=March 16, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}

The tornado's major impacts on Graves County Court operations, which included the destruction of the courthouse in Mayfield, led the Kentucky Supreme Court to suspend the county's court operations, including physical and electronic court filings, between December 13, 2021, and January 11, 2022.{{Cite web |title=Western Kentucky Tornado Damage |url=https://kycourts.gov/Courts/County-Information/Pages/Western-Kentucky-Tornado-Damage.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518201849/https://kycourts.gov/Courts/County-Information/Pages/Western-Kentucky-Tornado-Damage.aspx |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |access-date=February 2, 2023 |website=Kentucky Court of Justice}}

The Mayfield Messenger, the city's main newspaper, began printing an extra 2,000 copies per printing run of its paper, distributing them for free around the city.{{Cite news |last=Duvall |first=Tessa |date=March 25, 2022 |title=In tornado-mangled Mayfield, a lone reporter tells the stories of the town she grew up in |work=Louisville Courier Journal |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2022/03/25/mayfield-ky-reporter-single-handedly-covers-tornado-ravaged-town/6790155001/ |access-date=March 7, 2023}}

By February 14, 2022, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had cleared more than {{convert |280000 |cuyd}} of debris in Graves County, including Mayfield;{{Cite web |date=February 14, 2022 |title=Two Months Later, Recovery from Tornadoes Well Underway |url=https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20220214/two-months-later-recovery-tornadoes-well-underway |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127053207/https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20220214/two-months-later-recovery-tornadoes-well-underway |archive-date=November 27, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2023 |website=FEMA.gov}} by April 4, that number had risen to {{convert |265,453 |cuyd}} of debris removed in Mayfield and {{convert |433408 |cuyd}} in total form Graves County.{{Cite web |date=June 7, 2022 |title=6-Month Milestone-At a Glance |url=https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/6-month-milestone-glance |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129052300/https://www.fema.gov/fact-sheet/6-month-milestone-glance |archive-date=November 29, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2023 |website=FEMA.gov}} By May 2022, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the environmental nonprofit Living Lands and Waters, using excavators, barges, and volunteers, had removed {{Convert |1.2 |e6lb |MT |abbr=off |spell=}} of tornado debris from Kentucky Lake. Objects found included entire docks, cars, kayaks, and personal effects.{{Cite news |last=Davis |first=Chris |date=March 4, 2022 |title=Nonprofit removes 1.2 million pounds of debris from Kentucky Lake after tornadoes |work=WTVF |agency=E. W. Scripps Company |url=https://www.newschannel5.com/news/nonprofit-removes-1-2-million-pounds-of-debris-from-kentucky-lake-after-tornadoes |url-status=live |access-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516120203/https://www.newschannel5.com/news/nonprofit-removes-1-2-million-pounds-of-debris-from-kentucky-lake-after-tornadoes |archive-date=May 16, 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Brantley |first=Holly |date=January 15, 2022 |title=Living Lands and Waters aids in clearing hundreds of thousands of pounds of tornado debris from Kentucky Lake |work=WPSD-TV |url=https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/living-lands-and-waters-aids-in-clearing-hundreds-of-thousands-of-pounds-of-tornado-debris/article_a018b054-7647-11ec-bc11-5b69024f1126.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523083114/https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/living-lands-and-waters-aids-in-clearing-hundreds-of-thousands-of-pounds-of-tornado-debris/article_a018b054-7647-11ec-bc11-5b69024f1126.html |archive-date=May 23, 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Kalea |date=May 13, 2022 |title=Living Lands and Waters dives for tornado debris |work=WPSD-TV |url=https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/living-lands-and-waters-dives-for-tornado-debris/article_9bda352c-d30c-11ec-8a31-4beb34e3b43d.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617014925/https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/living-lands-and-waters-dives-for-tornado-debris/article_9bda352c-d30c-11ec-8a31-4beb34e3b43d.html |archive-date=June 17, 2022}}

Governor Beshear's administration created the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund, which received approximately 150,000 individual donations for a total of $52 million.{{Cite web |date=December 12, 2022 |title=One Year Later, Tornado Recovery Continues to Make Progress |url=https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20221212/one-year-later-tornado-recovery-continues-make-progress |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224000923/https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20221212/one-year-later-tornado-recovery-continues-make-progress |archive-date=December 24, 2022 |access-date=February 2, 2023 |website=FEMA.gov}} Disaster-relief and humanitarian groups such as the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and World Vision collected donations and provided aid after the tornado.{{Cite news |last1=Roberson |first1=Jeff |last2=Jablon |first2=Robert |last3=Salter |first3=Jim |date=December 11, 2021 |title=Deadly tornadoes, storms strike US; roof collapse at Amazon |work=AP News |url=https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-kentucky-illinois-arkansas-severe-weather-67b9acfb9d83e2e7139ae9de01618a21 |url-status=deviated |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211124308/https://apnews.com/article/tornadoes-kentucky-illinois-arkansas-severe-weather-67b9acfb9d83e2e7139ae9de01618a21 |archive-date=December 11, 2021}} More than 4,500 people attended a tornado relief concert in August 2022.{{Cite news |last=Ruch |first=Amber |date=August 8, 2022 |title=More than 4,500 attend Mayfield tornado relief concert |work=KFVS |url=https://www.kfvs12.com/2022/08/08/more-than-4500-attend-mayfield-tornado-relief-concert/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929090141/https://www.kfvs12.com/2022/08/08/more-than-4500-attend-mayfield-tornado-relief-concert/ |archive-date=September 29, 2022}}

In 2024, the City of Mayfield was awarded $31.5 million in federal-and-state grants to help rebuild roads in its downtown area. The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the city $25 million through its Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program. That money, along with $6.3 million in state transportation funding and $200,000 from other federal grants, was to be used to reconstruct around {{convert |2.5 |miles}} of high-traffic thoroughfares in the Graves County seat.{{cite web |url=https://www.wkms.org/government-politics/2024-06-27/mayfield-receives-31-5-million-for-downtown-revitalization-efforts-following-2021-tornado-outbreak |title=Mayfield receives $31.5 million for downtown revitalization efforts following 2021 tornado outbreak |date=June 27, 2024 }}

In June 2022, Mayfield City Council put several blocks in the city's heavily impacted downtown under a building permit freeze as they decided how to rebuild in the area, before rezoning the area in December 2022 for "less restrictive" commercial and residential mixed-use development.{{Cite news |last=Lamb |first=Zacharie |date=December 13, 2022 |title=Mayfield City Council rezones parts of historic downtown to aid in tornado recovery |work=WKMS |url=https://www.wkms.org/business-economy/2022-12-13/mayfield-city-council-rezones-parts-of-historic-downtown-to-aid-in-tornado-recovery |url-status=live |access-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202163912/https://www.wkms.org/business-economy/2022-12-13/mayfield-city-council-rezones-parts-of-historic-downtown-to-aid-in-tornado-recovery |archive-date=February 2, 2023}} In December 2022, a temporary memorial was placed in the Mayfield court square.{{cite web |date=December 4, 2022 |title=Temporary tornado memorial placed in Mayfield court square |url=https://westkentuckystar.com/News/Local-Regional/Temporary-tornado-memorial-placed-in-Mayfield-cour |access-date=5 December 2022 |publisher=West Kentucky Star}} In February 2023, Mayfield mayor Kathy O'Nan visited Louisville, Mississippi, which was struck by a devastating EF4 tornado in 2014, to tour the damage path and speak with city leaders about the rebuilding process and funding sources.{{Cite news |last=Emery |first=Holly |date=February 27, 2023 |title=Mayor of Mayfield, KY tours Louisville, MS for tornado recovery efforts |work=WTOK-TV |url=https://www.wtok.com/2023/02/28/mayor-mayfield-ky-tours-louisville-ms-tornado-recovery-efforts/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307185748/https://www.wtok.com/2023/02/28/mayor-mayfield-ky-tours-louisville-ms-tornado-recovery-efforts/ |archive-date=March 7, 2023}}

Accusations of factory management prohibiting workers from leaving a Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory before the tornado struck the factory were reported on December 13.{{Cite web |title=Factory workers threatened with firing if they left before tornado, employees say |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-tornado-factory-workers-threatened-firing-left-tornado-employ-rcna8581 |access-date=December 14, 2021 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=December 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213233856/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kentucky-tornado-factory-workers-threatened-firing-left-tornado-employ-rcna8581 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=December 14, 2021 |title=Kentucky candle factory bosses threatened to fire those who fled tornado, say workers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/14/kentucky-tornado-candle-factory-workers-managers-refused-leave |access-date=December 14, 2021 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=December 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214170143/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/dec/14/kentucky-tornado-candle-factory-workers-managers-refused-leave |url-status=live}} Workers said management told them: "if you leave, you're more than likely to be fired".{{cite news |last=Dodds |first=Io |date=December 15, 2021 |title=Kentucky tornado: Candle factory workers threatened with being fired if they fled approaching storm, report says |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/tornado-candle-factory-workers-fired-b1975454.html |work=The Independent |location= |access-date=December 25, 2021 |archive-date=December 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220013311/https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/tornado-candle-factory-workers-fired-b1975454.html |url-status=live }} On December 17, it was reported multiple workers at the candle factory filed a lawsuit against Mayfield Consumer Products in state court, seeking compensation and punitive damages. The lawsuit alleged the factory had up to three-and-a-half hours to let workers leave as safety precautions and did not, and the company showed a "flagrant indifference to the rights of workers" and violated the Kentucky occupational safety and health workplace standards by refusing evacuations.{{Cite web |last=Norman |first=Greg |date=December 17, 2021 |title=Kentucky tornado aftermath: Candle factory workers file lawsuit as state death toll rises to 76 |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/kentucky-tornado-mayfield-candle-factory-lawsuit-deaths |access-date=December 17, 2021 |website=Fox News |language=en-US |archive-date=December 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217165128/https://www.foxnews.com/us/kentucky-tornado-mayfield-candle-factory-lawsuit-deaths |url-status=live}} The following January, the factory closed and Mayfield Consumer Products laid off approximately 250 workers there, shifting operations and the remaining workers to a new plant in the nearby town of Hickory.{{Cite news |last=Siemaszko |first=Corky |date=January 17, 2022 |title=Kentucky candle factory destroyed by deadly tornado is closing |work=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mayfield-candle-factory-destroyed-deadly-kentucky-tornado-closing-rcna12469 |url-status=live |access-date=February 2, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725222837/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mayfield-candle-factory-destroyed-deadly-kentucky-tornado-closing-rcna12469 |archive-date=July 25, 2022}}

On December 8, 2022, a second lawsuit was filed against Mayfield Consumer Products on behalf of three workers who were killed in the candle factory collapse and seven who survived. The lawsuit alleged "false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of Kentucky statutory law".{{cite news |last=Hughes |first=Chris |date= December 8, 2022 |title=Workers file second lawsuit against Mayfield candle factory |url=https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2022/12/08/mayfield-candlemaker-lawsuit |work=Spectrum News 1 |location= |access-date=July 10, 2023}} {{clear}}

{{Portal|United States|Weather}}

{{commons category}}

• Weather of 2021
• List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks
• List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes
• List of F4 and EF4 tornadoes (2020–present)
• List of deadliest tornadoes in the Americas
• List of case studies on tornadoes (2020–present)
• Weather of 2021
• Tornado intensity and damage
• Tornado records
• Tri-State tornado outbreak
• Tornado outbreak sequence of May 3–9, 1961 – A tornado outbreak sequence that affected multiple areas that were struck by this tornado
• 2011 Central Alabama tornado – A tornado that was on the ground for a similar duration

{{reflist}}

• {{YouTube|pMQ0k5uXMn0|Documentary titled "The Deadliest Tornado Outbreak in 10 Years: December 10th, 2021 - A Retrospective" which includes NWS and SPC interviews}}

{{2021 tornado outbreaks}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-12-10 Western Kentucky Tornado}}

Western, Kentucky

Category:2021 in Kentucky

Tornado,2021-12-10, Western Kentucky

Western Kentucky Tornado

Category:Tornadoes in Kentucky

Category:F4, EF4 and IF4 tornadoes