1 dead, several injured when tornado rips through Kentucky community
One person is dead and several were injured after a tornado hit rural Kentucky on Friday. The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado was at least an EF-2 with wind speeds of at least 115 mph.
The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia on Friday.
In Kentucky, Washington County Judge-executive Timothy Graves said two or three houses were destroyed and downed trees temporarily blocked roads.
An Amish community was hit hard by the storm, and a home housing a family of 11 was leveled. Friends told sister station WLKY that five family members are hospitalized, including a 3-year-old.
Gov. Andy Beshear canceled a visit planned for Friday to Pulaski and Laurel counties, which were hit by a tornado earlier this month. That storm left 19 dead in the state.
鈥淭his level of severe weather was unexpected, with a system still moving through the state,鈥� Beshear said. 鈥淲e also expect to see additional storms today with Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky facing a risk of more severe weather. Please be alert this morning and stay safe.鈥�
In Tennessee, multiple people were injured when severe weather hit the Philadelphia area of Loudon County on Friday morning, the county sheriff鈥檚 office said in a social media post. The weather service鈥檚 office in Morristown later preliminarily confirmed in a social media post that an EF0 tornado struck near the border of Loudon and Monroe counties.
In addition to tornado warnings, the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for parts of North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia until Friday night.
