Princeton Funnel Cloud, Others Spotted Wednesday

The National Weather Service office in Paducah got word of several sightings of airborne funnel clouds Wednesday afternoon, including five miles northwest of Princeton at about 5:15. Other funnel clouds were reported near Greenville, Mortons Gap and Central City.

Law enforcement personnel called in a brief touchdown of a tornado on the ground in Webster County, and another tornado was reported at Earlington at Hopkins County. There was also a report of a tornado near the Keenland Parkway in Owensboro.

Severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and damaging winds were widespread Wednesday. Marshall County deputies reported trees downed across roads northeast of Benton. At least two trees were also reported down in Mayfield.

Hail between one and two inches in diameter was noted by multiple spotters in Muhlenberg County Wednesday.

Flash flooding started early on Wednesday when a small but intense thunderstorm about 9:45 filled some Paducah intersections with water near Noble Park, and had water streaming across Cairo Road. That afternoon, radar indicated that rain totals in Livingston and Crittenden counties commonly exceeded three inches, and an area northeast of Marion received more than four inches of rain.

Later in the evening, flash flooding was widespread in Webster County, and several streets were flooded in the city of Henderson. Across the river in Evansville, the Lloyds Expressway was under water, and some people had to be rescued from flooded vehicles.

Lightning Wednesday near the Hanson community in Hopkins County reportedly caused a structure fire.

Southern Illinois got the brunt of storms on Tuesday, including a report of three-inch hail south of Harrisburg. One-inch hail was also seen in Massac, Johnson and Pulaski counties.

Damaging winds were reported in Perry County where 50-mph gusts damaged power lines and tipped over a few train cars.

In southwest Indiana, lightning was believed to be the cause of two structure fires, and 60-80 mph winds snapped trees. Spotters and fire department personnel sighted a brief funnel cloud that quickly rose back into the cloud.

Over the next few days, National Weather Service personnel will confirm whether tornadoes were on the ground, and assess damages.

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