Published: October 09, 2009 08:40 pm      

Storm wreaks havoc in Pulaski County

Northern Pulaski, Faubush areas see extensive damage; no tornado confirmed

It seemed like UK Coach John Calipari’s visit to Somerset would be yesterday’s biggest topic of discussion — until the line of damaging storms swept through the area, leaving downed trees and power lines and damaged properties in its wake.

In fact, many residents, going about their everyday business, were caught by surprise when the squalls hit.

North Ky. 1247 resident Ty Cooper was preparing to leave his home around 3:30 p.m. with his one-and-a-half year old daughter when the storm struck residents living between Somerset and Science Hill.

“I just put my daughter in her car seat and turned back to lock the door when the back of the truck lifted off the ground, turned sideways and slammed back down,” Cooper, who lives just north of Campground Road, said.

Cooper’s daughter was in the Ford F150 when the strong winds took hold of the vehicle.

“I was scared because I knew she was in there, so I got back in,” Cooper said. “It was all I could think to do to get out of here as fast as possible,” Cooper said.

By that point, the winds had cut a diagonal path through his neighbors’ yards, downing trees and power lines and damaging outbuildings.

Cooper said he never would have had his daughter outside when the storm hit had he known what was coming.

“It got really bad,” he said. “It went from normal rain to it was just a wind storm.”

Cooper’s garage window was broken by the force of the winds, and he said several shingles from his roof were torn off.

Cooper’s next door neighbor, Shirley Trimble, was taking groceries into her house when the storm hit.

“When I opened my garage door to go on into the house, I couldn’t go,” Trimble said. “The wind was so strong. I just stood in the corner (of the garage) and thought ‘Lord, help me.’”

A tree in Trimble’s front yard fell in the strong winds, barely missing Trimble’s home.

The winds toppled the playground equipment at Campground Baptist Church, located just beside Trimble’s home, and the church’s flag pole was flattened against the ground by the gusts.

Behind Cooper and Trimble’s homes live Sharon Floyd, her husband Darrell, and their two daughters.

Daughter Jessica Floyd was upstairs in her room shutting her window when the winds picked up, but she thought the storm held nothing more than rain until her father alarmed the family.

“When my dad started yelling at me, I knew,” she said.

Sharon Floyd was pressure-washing her back porch when she said she heard a roar over the sound of the pressure washer. The family took cover while the winds raged, but their neighbors were the first thing that came to mind when the winds died down.

“We immediately went to all the neighbors’ houses first,” Sharon Floyd said.

Darrell Floyd’s brother, David Floyd, who lives in a house above Darrell and Sharon Floyd, was also home when the storm hit.

While their properties sustained minor damage, John Wither’s residence, in which he lives with his mother, took a major hit. Trees were uprooted and power lines were downed around the brick home, making it nearly impossible to get to the house.

But, thankfully, no one was injured.

“We’re very fortunate,” Sharon Floyd said.

The Lake Cumberland Stock Market, located off U.S. 2227, also sustained heavy damage in the storm. The tin roof of the building was essentially peeled back by the gusts. Other properties between the stock yard and the residences off Ky. 1247 were also impacted by downed trees and power lines.

Pulaski County Public Safety Director Tiger Robinson, one of many emergency service members who responded to the widespread reports of damage, said residents in Faubush along Ky. 196 also saw some damage. He noted that most residents in the Faubush and Nancy communities only saw minor damage to their properties.

Robinson also said one home located on Clifty Road in Science Hill sustained moderate damage as well.

Reports of power outages were also scattered across the county.

Residents off Ky. 1247 said the twisted tree trunks were evidence that a tornado had gone through. That won’t be confirmed until the Jackson Weather Service arrives in the area to examine the damage.

Robinson said many damaged areas in the county showed signs of straight-line winds — evidenced by debris being pushed in the same direction the wind is blowing.

“It looks like it was straight-line winds, maybe a light F-1 or F-01 tornado,” Robinson said.

Winds produced by a tornado will scatter the debris in a variety of different directions because the winds of a tornado are rotating violently.

Emergency personnel were still responding to reports of blocked road and downed lines at of late Friday evening.

The storms impacted other parts of the state as well, with the most damage sustained in Casey County. The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-2 tornado with winds of 115-120 mph had touched down Friday afternoon south of Liberty.

The storms were moving ahead of a cold front that swept across the Ohio Valley Friday. The intensity of the storms were expected to decrease Friday night, with a chance for showers expected Saturday morning.

Saturday is expected to be partly sunny but on the cool side, with a high in the mid-60s.