WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. — A strong storm in Northern Kentucky produced a tornado in one Grant County town Thursday morning.
The National Weather Service said an EF0 tornado touched down south of Dry Ridge, in the area of Williamstown, as thunderstorms moved through the Tri-State.
A tornado warning was in effect for Owen and Grant counties from about 9:10 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Thursday. The area of the storm with rotation arrived around 9:24 a.m.
The NWS said the tornado had an estimated maximum wind speed of 85 miles per hour with a maximum path width of 50 yards. The tornado's path length was 0.3 miles. No one was injured or killed.
One house sustained significant storm damage. The family of four who lives in the house on Arlington Court said within 30 minutes of calling for help to patch up damage on their roof, a construction crew had arrived.
Diane Porter lives in the home with her husband and two kids. She was the only one home at the time of the storm, but said she didn't think much of the tornado warning because it's something that had happened several times before.
She went to a closet to wait out the storm and heard a loud boom at one point.
"I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I think the house just shook a little bit,'" Porter said.
She came out to find the bathroom flooded and part of the roof gone.
Just as quickly as this happened, Porter said friends and community members started offering help. They brought food and donuts, offering their assistance.
"We live in a good community, it doesn't surprise me, but when it's you personally it really means a whole lot more," Porter said. "We're going to be okay, everything's gonna be okay."
The NWS said the tornado continue across Arnie Risen Boulevard, where there was a downed tree and a bent street sign.
A steel warehouse building east of the area also dealt with roof damage before the tornado dissipated. The Helping Hands Thrift Store about a half mile away from Arlington Court saw extensive damage to its roof.
Andrea Yoakum is one of the volunteers who came to the store as soon as she heard about the damage.
"When I got here, I kind (of) just looked in and they were like 'you can't go in there,'" she said.
With roof damage, a door completely gone and water still pouring in, there were safety concerns, leaving some merchandise ruined and nowhere to store new donations.
"We just are really at this point looking at saving our racks and just being able to function later on because most of what we have is damaged," Yoakum said.
They're asking for people to hold on to any items they want to donate to the thrift store until they're able to start accepting donations again.
Instead, they're asking anyone who wants to help right now for monetary donations or food items donated to the food pantry.
