Straight Line Winds Damage Buildings, Overturn Semi In Salvisa
Photo: National Weather Service
Straightline winds damaged buildings like this one in Salvisa and overturned a truck on U.S. 127 last week. No lives were lost in the storm, officials say.
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
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No lives were lost in the storms that swept through Mercer County last week. On Tuesday April 2, a strong low pressure system moved through the region resulting in hail, wind damage and 10 tornadoes, including one reported in Nicholasville, according to the National Weather Service. Locally, the worst damage came from straight line winds, with gusts of up to 80 miles per hour being recorded by the NWS.
In Salvisa, a storm blew ripped the roof off JM Weld Co. Once inside, the wind.
“The trusses came down on me and my wife right there in the shop,” Joseph Moore, the owner of the welding shop, told WLEX-18. “I mean it was kind of a harrowing life flash before you before your eyes experience. You don’t really realize that it’s happening, until it’s come and gone. You hear this big rush and roar of the wind rushing into the structure and it fills the roof off and you just kind of brace yourself.”
The heavy winds also overturning a tractor trailer by Family Affair Restaurant on U.S. 127.
Sheriff Ernie Kelty said the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office had to call in extra deputies to handle the high volume of storm calls, which included redirecting traffic on U.S. 127 until the overturned semi could be removed.
“We tried to get the traffic moving as soon as possible as we can,” Kelty said Tuesday at the Mercer County Fiscal Court meeting.
One issue they faced was figuring out what to do with other semis on the highway, which couldn’t be rerouted onto county roads.
“You’d be amazed at how much semi traffic there is on 127,” Kelty said.
“It was a busy day,” said Emergency Management Director Brad Cox. Cox thanked crews for clearing debris even while the storm was still raging.
“They had their hands full,” Cox said. “We were very fortunate.”
Cox invited anyone with questions about the alert systems to contact the emergency management office.
“Feel free to give me a call,” Cox said. “We’re always looking to update service.”
The Mercer County Emergency Management Agency is located at the fiscal courthouse (207 West Lexington Street). The email is mercercountyem@gmail.com and the phone number is 859-734-6333.
