Tornado towers over Murray: Storms produce funnel cloud and area damage

“It appears to me that it lifted close to Wiswell Road and Oaks Country Club Road. That’s about the area where it lifted back up off the ground, and it was a funnel cloud then as it went over the south side of Murray. There was a wall cloud with a funnel cloud associated with it, but there was more than likely not a tornado on the south side of Murray, just because there's not enough damage to say that there was.”

Holland said the damage on the south side of town was more than likely caused by strong thunderstorm wind gusts. He noted that the county was under a severe thunderstorm warning around the same time the tornado warning was issued, so there were heavy straight line winds, “in addition to the small circulation that was on the ground southwest side of town.”

Holland said Murray was extremely fortunate that the tornado lifted when it did because if it had continued on it path touching the ground, it would have caused catastrophic damage. He noted that the tornado could have easily plowed through subdivisions like Canterbury, Saratoga Springs and Gatesborough Circle, as well as two mobile home parks – Coach Estates and Fox Meadows – that are extremely vulnerable to tornadoes and straight line winds. If it had continued on its path toward the downtown area, it might have also ripped through Spring Creek Health Care and the apartments owned by the Housing Authority of Murray, he said.

Calloway County Fire-Rescue members were hard at work throughout the night, and at one point, they had to flee their Sycamore Street headquarters when it looked like the tornado was coming straight for them.

“We are definitely feeling grateful tonight after a tornado that was spotted in the Lynn Grove community heading directly towards our headquarters and main station lifted as it entered Murray,” said CCFR Public Information Officer Taylor Black in a Facebook post. “Upon seeing the early warnings from the National Weather Service, the decision was made by our Chief and Emergency Management Director to evacuate our headquarters, as we had 30-plus members, plus their families, taking cover in our station … (We took) our department trucks south out of the direct line of danger in an effort to protect our members and equipment. The reasoning for this decision was primarily the safety of our CCFR family members, as we do not have a storm shelter or basement to utilize …”

With Station 1 being in the direct path of the tornado, officers were worried about the possibility it could take a direct hit, which Black said would have meant losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in life-saving equipment and trucks. While CCFR waited for the threat to pass, members took cover in the basement of Cherry Corner Baptist Church.

“We evacuated to get out of the direct line of danger so we would be able to immediately return after and be able to help where needed,” Black said. “… Thank you to the members of Cherry Corner Baptist Church for their hospitality and for allowing us to cram another 30-plus people in their basement with them at the last minute.”

Murray resident Dylan Phillips captured a video with his cellphone showing the funnel cloud as it hovered above Murray, which was then picked up by several TV stations. Although he’s not certain where he was standing at the time he took the video, he thinks it was somewhere north of the Wiswell community and south of KY 94 West.

“I was initially just across the Graves County line watching that first supercell heading towards the Kirksey area,” Phillips said. “That was what I was initially focused on, but then that one didn't do much and moved off into Marshall County, so I just kind of ‘stair-stepped’ down the line as (another storm) was pushing into Calloway. I saw a big rotation signature just across the Tennessee state line (on a radar app), and I just knew it was about to drop one.” 

Phillips said he then saw a large, dark debris signature show up on his radar app, so he knew the tornado had touched down on the ground. 

“I headed back out of the Kirksey area and headed toward the Lynn Grove area,” he said. “I pulled onto Crossland Road, just as the tornado was pretty close to me. I kind of wanted to get my bearings, and that's when I recorded the video. It was around 9:25 p.m., and the lightning (flashed to show the clouds). Normally, you don't want to be on the north side of a tornado when it's coming in your direction; it’s a little more dangerous, especially at night. But I had a pretty good idea of where it was in front of me, and that's when I recorded the video. Pretty much right after it crossed the road in front of me, I think that's when it started lifting right before it got into Murray, luckily.”

Haley Caddas said she had moved just six weeks ago into her Mimosa Lane home, which has now become uninhabitable.

“Two large trees – one from my backyard, and one from my neighbor's house – fell in different directions, directly on the house,” she said. “One tree took out the kitchen and the main areas, and then the other one that fell took out most of the bedrooms and bathrooms. The ceilings are also mostly caved in, and water has been pouring in since last night. … At this point, I’m just trying to salvage what we can from the home so that we don't have to start over too much.”

Caddas said, though, that she was grateful she and her son were safe because they left to take shelter elsewhere about six minutes before the trees fell.

Andrea Gibson and Hussein Zaidan lost their storage shed, which wasn’t large, but had its own foundation and was bolted into the ground, Andrea said. She said the majority of the shed’s pieces landed in front of their neighbor’s house across the street, but other pieces were spread all around several other yards. Miraculously, the couple’s vehicles were not damaged, Andrea said.

“The shed went right over our roof and into the road and then in front of (the neighbor’s) door, but neither of our cars have damage to them,” she said.

Holland added that he was encouraged to hear that a large number of people took advantage of the storm shelter that was opened Wednesday at the Miller Courthouse Annex.

“I’ve had a couple of people who were there tell me they estimated between 200 and 250 people were there,” Holland said. “It's good that the shelter was being used, because it means people were taking this storm seriously. We all still have thoughts of the Mayfield tornado from Dec. 10, 2021, so that's still fresh on everybody's mind, as far as what a damaging tornado can do.”

Holland warned once again that although Calloway County faces a slight risk for more severe weather on Friday, and there is another potential threat Saturday, flash flooding is the biggest threat for the rest of this week.