SPRINGFIELD, Ky. — The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for parts of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Virginia on Friday, hours after a harsh storm hit a remote area of central Kentucky, killing one person and injuring seven.
In Kentucky, Washington County Judge-executive Timothy Graves said two or three houses were destroyed and downed trees temporarily blocked roads.
“We were fortunate this was located in a remote part of the county,” Graves said.
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. Officials were responding to reports of a possible tornado in Washington County, he said in a social media post.
“This level of severe weather was unexpected, with a system still moving through the state,” Beshear said. “We 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.”
The National Weather Service’s office in Louisville, Ky., said a crew surveying damage Friday in Washington County was following a damage path that might enter neighboring Mercer County. By midday, the crew had found “at least” EF1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale tornado damage in southwestern Washington County, the office said in a social media post.
Three of the injured people were taken to University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington. County Emergency Management Director Kevin Devine said the county was not expecting harsh weather Friday morning.
In a social media post, the sheriff’s office asked people to stay home to allow emergency workers to do their jobs.
In Tennessee, multiple people were injured when severe weather hit the Philadelphia area of Loudon County, on Friday morning, the county sheriff’s office said in a social media post. The weather service’s office in Morristown later preliminarily confirmed in a social media post that an EF0 tornado struck near the border of Loudon and Monroe counties.
Also on Friday, National Weather Service surveyors said a Thursday afternoon tornado near Atlanta reached top wind speeds estimated at 135 mph, throwing the son of actor Tray Chaney nearly 300 feet from the second-floor window of his home and leaving him with critical injuries.
The storm, rated EF2, damaged about a dozen houses in a subdivision in Locust Grove, about 30 miles southeast of the city. Residents told news outlets they had no advance warning of the twister, which meteorologists said dropped out of a thunderstorm that had showed weak and broad rotation. The tornado was on the ground for 5 minutes, covering 1.8 miles.
Along one street, the tornado ripped off siding and shingles, blowing out windows. Damage was worst at the Chaney home, which was destroyed except for one interior closet on the first floor where clothes were still hanging.
Malachi Chaney, the son, was found in nearby woods and taken to an Atlanta hospital. Tray Chaney, best known for his role on “The Wire,” said his son remained hospitalized in intensive care on Friday, with injuries including broken ribs and fractured bones in his face. Tray Chaney said he suffered a bruise on the head. In a video recorded shortly thereafter, Chaney said he wished he could trade places with his son, who just completed his freshman year at Savannah State University.
“I wish he was the one that was doing the video, and I was still in the ICU,” Tray Chaney said.
It was the third round of tornadoes in northern Georgia this week, with the weather service confirming three weaker twisters northwest of Atlanta on Sunday and three more tornadoes west of the city on Tuesday.
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.
