Massive tornado or 'tornado family'? NWS will be surveying Kentucky storms for days
A monstrous storm raged through the Midwest Friday night into Saturday and brought destructive tornadoes with it.
In the player above, Chief Meteorologist Jay Cardosi explains tornado path
As storm surveys continue, the National Weather Service is determining how many tornadoes actually touched down and the level of damage they caused.
One thing experts are trying to figure out is whether the most destructive scenes in Kentucky were caused by one big tornado that came up and down into different communities, or whether a "tornado family" is behind the destruction.
A "tornado family" is a series of tornadoes spawned by the same supercell thunderstorm.
We're told that on Sunday, the Civil Air Patrol will be flying above the storm path to help figure that out.
Here are some tornado classifications so far:
- Taylor County – EF-3 (strong, 140 mph)
- Ohio County – EF-2 (strong, 115 mph)
There were also EF-1 tornadoes in Falls of the Rough, near Horse Cave, and in Hardyville.
More will likely be confirmed and there could be one as strong as an F-4 or F-5.
The classification in Mayfield, a place where there will likely be dozens of deaths, has not yet been confirmed.