LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Many in west Louisville and Harrison County, Indiana, were left to pick up the pieces and damage left behind from tornadoes that blew through the area Thursday.

The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-1 tornado hit Louisville in the area of Woodland Avenue between Catalpa Street and Cypress Street. The tornado had winds of 95 miles per hour.

"The tornado came without warning," Mayor Craig Greenberg said.

Louisville Metro Emergency Services set up a reception center Friday at Shawnee Baptist Church to help residents who've been impacted.

The Red Cross will also be assessing the sheltering needs for residents in the impacted area. The reception center at Shawnee Baptist Church, located at 2214 Bank Street, was open until 4 p.m. Friday.

The Red Cross is still deciding if the shelter will also be open Saturday.

At the peak of the storm, there were 11,000 people without power but only those remain without power is if they had damage inside inside their homes.

Accessing Louisville's damage

An EF-1 tornado touched down in Louisville Thursday.

Governor Andy Beshear also visited west Louisville Friday along with Greenberg and Kentucky U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey as he talked to people in west Louisville who were either impacted by the tornado or are here to help clean up the aftermath.

"The folks who call this west Louisville neighborhood their home, I know many are hurting right now," Beshear said. "They need to know we love them and we have their back and what they have seen are services in their neighborhood faster than I have seen throughout my term as governor."

Local and state officials walked through west Louisville to see the downed power lines and trees that lay behind after those high speed winds ripped through the area.'

It was a storm that came quickly with no warning or sirens. Greenberg said it arrived so quickly that even the National Weather Service couldn't identify the threat.

The damage from the storms also shut down part of the Shawnee Golf Course and a nearby park. Louisville Parks and Rec said Chickasaw Park and the back-9 at Shawnee were closed Friday.

Officials asked people to avoid those areas so crews can clean up downed trees, power lines and other debris.

"It came without any warning to us in the city, it came without any warning to the state," Greenberg said. "It came without any warning to the National Weather Service."

Harrison County tornado

An EF-0 tornado touched down in southern Indiana Thursday.

There was also a tornado reported across the river in Harrison County, Indiana.

Several trees were uprooted as the NWS confirmed an EF-0 tornado hit the area. A home at the corner of Highway 135 and 335 seemed to have gotten the worst of the damage with a tree that toppled over onto the front of the house.

The damage stretches along the highways into the Crandall area. Some of the damage also impacted areas of Tee Road.

Harrison County storm damage.jpg

Damage caused by an EF-0 tornado in Harrison County, Indiana. (Source: Harrison County Emergency Management)

"Just to our west here is where the tornado seems to have started," Mike Kurz, with Harrison County Management, said. "We have evidence of rotation in the trees and so forth. It continued about a mile, mile and a half."

"Spooky as hell, real spooky," David Kohrs, who witnessed the tornado, said. "We went downstairs in our family room, it's below ground level. It was eerie.  It was pouring down rain. Absolutely pouring down rain."

Officials said the tornado with winds around 80 miles per hour came through just after 1 p.m. Thursday, and no injuries were reported. 

Just over 300 people were without power at the height of the storm, but it was restored by Friday morning.

Related Stories:

Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.