In the early hours of December 11, 2021, two large and strong tornadoes struck the city of Bowling Green, at 1:20 a.m., located in Warren County, Kentucky, United States. The first tornado cut a swath of EF3-rated damage on the Enhanced Fujita scale through the city, killing 16 people, while the second tornado produced EF2 damage but no injuries or fatalities. The tornadoes touched down as part of a larger tornado outbreak that hit the southern United States, and the first tornado was the second-deadliest of the entire outbreak.
The first tornado touched down to the west of Rockfield, slowly becoming more intense as it crossed over KY 1083. One person was killed near Rockfield before the tornado moved on, tracking towards Bowling Green. Seven people, all members of the Brown family, were killed as the tornado completely destroyed the family's home along Moss Creek Avenue at EF3 intensity.
The second tornado formed shortly after the first, touching down to the west of the Bowling Green–Warren County Regional Airport before tracking to the south of Bowling Green, where it produced EF2 damage to areas around the Barren River. Despite heavily damaging several structures, including at the NCM Motorsports Park, the second tornado was only on the ground for five minutes and caused no injuries or deaths.
The tornadoes devastated multiple areas in and around Bowling Green, leaving over 1,500 people without power in the weeks following the event. Seventeen people were killed in total, and 63 others were injured; every casualty was a result of the initial EF3 tornado.
Meteorological synopsis
On December 8, 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 expressed uncertainty regarding the extent of instability, degree of directional wind shear, and late timing of potential storms. The following day, the SPC noted the increased potential for organized severe thunderstorms in the region extending from southeastern Arkansas northeast into southern Indiana, upgrading that area to an enhanced risk.
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 that atmospheric conditions favored the development of nocturnal supercells capable of producing long-tracked, strong tornadoes.
At 3:00 p.m. CST (21:00 UTC), the SPC issued a tornado watch across the highest risk area (encompassing central and eastern Arkansas, west Tennessee, northwestern Mississippi, southeastern Missouri, and southern portions of Illinois and Indiana), the first of eleven issued over subsequent hours over the middle Mississippi Valley. Initial storms developed across central Arkansas around 2:00 p.m. CST (20:00 UTC), with even weaker activity developing over central Missouri a little over hours 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).
One such storm—which 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; this cell ultimately persisted for more than over several hours from eastern Arkansas to northeastern Kentucky, producing two large and intense tornadoes along its track, among eleven tornadoes in total. 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. 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 PDS tornado warning for portions of Poinsett, Craighead and Mississippi counties (including areas to the south of Jonesboro).
Doppler radar analysis estimated that the supercell maintained a nearly continuous high-end rotational vorticity signature, averaging for approximately four hours and 20 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 were recorded at 9:58 p.m. CST (04:58 UTC) over northeastern Marshall County, Kentucky.
Elsewhere, multiple lines of intense storms, some featuring embedded supercells, developed across the Mississippi Valley region through the overnight hours and generated other strong and long-lived tornadoes. By the pre-dawn hours of December 11, a decrease in instability led to a gradual weakening of a line of thunderstorms stretching along the associated cold front from eastern Kentucky southward into central Alabama.
Tornado summaries
Rockfield–Bowling Green–Sunnyside–Cedar Spring, Kentucky (1st tornado)
The tornado first touched down south of the intersection of Wimpee Smith Road and Petros Browning Road, where EF0 tree damage occurred. Near Tommy Smith Road, the tornado quickly began to strengthen and reached EF2 intensity north of Rockfield. Many trees were downed, a horse trailer was thrown into a ravine, while multiple barns and farm buildings were completely destroyed in this area. Just northeast of this point, high-end EF2 damage occurred as the tornado crossed KY 1083, where multiple homes and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. This included one house that sustained complete removal of its roof and exterior walls, and was left with only an interior hallway standing. Based on scouring of corn stubble in fields, and analysis of damage patterns visible in aerial drone video taken in this area, damage surveyors determined that the tornado displayed an unusual internal structure during this initial portion of its path. There appeared to be a smaller circulation that produced an intense, narrow path of damage embedded within a broader, weaker circulation that caused less intense damage.
The tornado weakened to EF1 strength as it crossed Van Meter Road and Fuqua Road, but continued to cause extensive tree damage. A one-story home also sustained minor roof damage along Fuqua Road. Additional EF1 damage occurred as it crossed LC Carr Road and Blue Level Road, where some barns and outbuildings were damaged, homes sustained siding and gutter damage, and trees were snapped. The Zomi Agape church sustained considerable roof damage, and insulation from the building was strewn in all directions. As the tornado began to enter the western fringes of Bowling Green, it rapidly intensified and became strong again as it produced EF3 damage to homes along Rembrandt Court. Here, multiple homes were destroyed and left with only interior rooms standing, one of which was moved off of its foundation.
Nearby, the tornado moved across Old Tramm Road and Powell Street, where some one-story homes and duplexes were destroyed, a couple of which were leveled or swept clean from their foundations. However, it was noted that a large storage building was destroyed across the street from these residences, and pieces of heavy equipment were thrown into them. Damage surveyors determined that the extent of the destruction noted at the homes and duplexes was more due to heavy debris impacts, rather than extreme winds, and a rating of high-end EF2 was applied in this area as a result. It then crossed the I-165 into more densely populated areas of the city as an EF3 tornado.
After crossing the interstate, the rapidly-intensifying tornado struck the Creekwood subdivision, where devastating damage occurred as numerous homes were completely destroyed. Some of the worst damage in the subdivision occurred along Moss Creek Avenue, where dozens of homes were leveled or swept from their foundations. Damage surveyors noted that these homes were built on poorly constructed cinder block foundations, and damage in this area was rated high-end EF3. Dozens of cars were flipped, severely damaged, and thrown into homes, and wooden 2x4s were impaled into the ground and through vehicles. Many other homes along this segment of the path sustained major structural damage, sustaining loss of roofs and exterior walls, while large trees were snapped, twisted and denuded. Numerous fatalities occurred in the Creekwood subdivision, including an entire family of 7 that was killed in the destruction of their home.
Just east of this area, the tornado crossed Spring Creek Avenue and weakened to high-end EF2 strength as it moved through another residential area. Many homes had their roofs torn off in this area, and some sustained collapse of exterior walls and were pushed off of their foundations. A two-story apartment building on Hillridge Court had its roof and many top floor exterior walls torn off, and numerous trees and power poles were snapped. Some townhouses were severely damaged near the Veterans Memorial Parkway, one of which was shifted off its foundation as well. High-end EF2 damage continued as it widened and crossed Russellville Road, damaging or destroying numerous businesses on both sides of the road. A plumbing supply company was destroyed, with the garage portion of the business blown in and collapsed. Some semi-trucks were flipped and severely damaged nearby, and a metal billboard was twisted and destroyed. Trees and power poles were snapped, a dumpster was thrown , and metal light poles were bent to the ground. Multiple homes in the nearby Springhill and Crestmoor subdivisions had roofs and attached garages ripped off, and large trees were uprooted.The tornado narrowed and weakened some as it moved through the Chuck Crume Nature Park, and into neighborhoods near Cedar Ridge Road as a low-end EF2. Damage to homes in this area was less severe, but numerous large hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted, some of which fell on houses and vehicles. A metal power pole was also toppled to the ground. It then clipped the south edge of the Western Kentucky University campus, where the buildings were not directly hit by tornadic winds, but debris was found speared into the exterior walls of a few structures. The tornado increased in intensity again as it moved along the US 31W just south of downtown Bowling Green, heavily damaging or destroying several businesses at high-end EF2 to EF3 strength.
Two two-story apartment buildings nearby sustained severe roof damage, one of which was struck by debris from a nearby gas station. A truck was flipped onto its side, numerous power lines were downed, and many trees were snapped, uprooted, or denuded throughout this corridor as well. Weakening back to low-end EF2 intensity, it crossed Broadway Avenue as it moved through neighborhoods surrounding Magnolia Street. Large trees were snapped or uprooted in this area, houses had their roofs and porches torn off, and a butcher shop suffered significant roof and window damage.