LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – The National Weather Service in Louisville completed surveys from the severe weather in southern Indiana on August 7.
One of the tornadoes, an EF-1, set an August record for the longest track of a tornado in the NWS Louisville forecast area. It traveled 25.89 miles through Dubois and Orange counties. NWS said the tornado first touched down west of U.S. 231 in northern Dubois County and ended just southwest of Paoli.
The tornado had maximum winds of 107 miles per hour.
A second EF-1 tornado near Paoli was on the ground for 8.73 miles and had maximum winds of 100 miles per hour.
We have a new record for the longest tracked August tornado for our area. The EF-1 tornado that first touched near Haysville, IN traveled 25.89 miles to Paoli, IN. This obliterates the prior record of 4 miles from Jefferson County, IN in 2002. pic.twitter.com/poF51V5lwd
— Marc Weinberg (@MarcWeinbergWX) August 10, 2023
The previous track length record for an August tornado in the NWS Louisville area was 4 miles. That happened in Jefferson County, Indiana, in 2002.
The weather service said three tornadoes hit the Paoli area. The third was an EF-0 south of town.
The other tornadoes confirmed by NWS included an EF-1 near French Lick, an EF-1 in east-central Orange County, and an EF-1 in Salem.
The storms caused damage in several southern Indiana counties. In Paoli, the historic Orange County Courthouse had damage to its bell tower and chimneys. The building was closed for several days for repairs and inspections.
National Weather Service results from surveying the Aug. 7, 2023, storms in Indiana.
Homes were also damaged and some businesses in downtown Paoli lost brick walls.
Power has slowly been restored during the week with a little more than 100 customers in the dark as of 7 p.m. Thursday.
According to the Storm Predication Center, between 1950 and 2021, only 6 percent of tornadoes in the entire state of Indiana happened in August.
IMAGES | Southern Indiana residents assessing damage after overnight storms
Pictured: an uprooted tree in a yard on US 150 in Paoli, Ind., after strong storms moved through the area in the early morning hours of Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
Pictured: a homeowner on US 150 cleans up after storms snapped and uprooted trees in his yard in Paoli, Ind., in the early morning hours of Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
Pictured: this image dated Aug. 7, 2023, shows a tree down in a yard on US 150 in Paoli, Ind., after storms moved through the area overnight. (WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
Pictured: this image dated Aug. 7, 2023, shows trees down in a yard on Highway 150 in Paoli, Ind., after storms moved through the area overnight. (WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
Pictured: this image grab taken from video dated Aug. 7, 2023, shows an uprooted tree in a yard on US 150 in Paoli, Ind., after storms moved through the area overnight. (WDRB photo)
(WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
Pictured: downed tree limbs on the street in downtown Paoli, Ind., after powerful storms moved through the area in the early morning hours of Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
Pictured: downed tree limbs on the street in downtown Paoli, Ind., after powerful storms moved through the area in the early morning hours of Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
Pictured: this image taken from Facebook shows the side of a building in downtown Paoli, Ind., that sustained damage after storms moved through the area in the early morning hours of Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
Pictured: this image taken from Facebook shows the side of a building in downtown Paoli, Ind., that sustained damage after storms moved through the area in the early morning hours of Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
(WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
(WDRB photo via Darby Beane on Facebook)
Across Paoli town, the sun came up to reveal damage of all kinds. Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB Photo)
Across Paoli town, the sun came up to reveal damage of all kinds. Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB Photo)
Across Paoli town, the sun came up to reveal damage of all kinds. Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB Photo)
Across Paoli town, the sun came up to reveal damage of all kinds. Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB Photo)
Across Paoli town, the sun came up to reveal damage of all kinds. Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB Photo)
Across Paoli town, the sun came up to reveal damage of all kinds. Aug. 7, 2023. (WDRB Photo)
Of the 89 tornadoes recorded in the state during that time period, 22 were reported in Dubois County and 19 were reported in Orange County.
Monday’s six tornadoes are two shy of the record from a single storm in August. In 2016, 11 tornadoes were confirmed as part of a larger outbreak in Indiana, Ohio, and Canada.
Related Stories:
- Southern Indiana residents begin clean up process after 4 tornadoes swept through the area
- At least 3 tornadoes confirmed near Paoli from storms that moved through early Monday
- Storms cause damage, delay classes in southern Indiana; possible tornado in Orange County
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