EF-3 Tornado Touches Down in North Carolina, Catastrophic Flooding in W. Kentucky

On Wednesday morning torrential rainfall fell in western Kentucky, leading to flash flood emergencies for many communities, including Mayfield, KY. If that name sounds familiar it is because only 18 months ago, in December of 2021, a powerful EF-4 tornado tore through the community. People still rebuilding from the immense damage were hit with another natural disaster this week. Our field correspondents were on the ground in W. KY, noting the extreme flooding taking over neighborhoods.

A widespread 6-7" of rain fell in the area, with even a new state record of over 11" in 24 hours! There was simply nowhere for the water to go.

That same storm system then moved into the Carolinas Wednesday afternoon, producing a tornado in northern North Carolina. That tornado was rated as an EF-3, destroying communities and a Pfizer medical plant in Rocky Mount, NC. Numerous storms were seen in North Carolina and eastern Virginia, including a tornado warning in the VA Beach metro that caused widespread flooding.

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