Damage at Churchill Downs

Dale Romans' barn was one of those damaged by a tornado that touched down Wednesday night on the Churchill Downs backside. (By Gregory A. Hall, The Courier-Journal / June 23, 2011)

Wednesday evening’s ominous skies, swirling clouds and blaring sirens heralded the arrival of four tornado touchdowns in Jefferson County — the most ever recorded in the county in a single day.

The four tornado touchdowns, which the National Weather Service confirmed Thursday, broke the record for a single day first set in March 1925, when two tornadoes touched down, and matched in January 1928, when two more touched down, said meteorologist Ryan Sharp.

There were no reports of injuries from the tornadoes, which damaged barns at Churchill downs, tore holes in the sides of buildings in Jeffersontown and knocked down utility poles near Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.

Sharp said Wednesday’s volatile atmosphere was “unusual.” He attributed the rare tornado activity to a stalled cold front north of Louisville mixing with changing wind direction to the south.

MetroSafe Communications triggered outdoor warning alarms 11 times between 7:33 p.m. and 10:10 p.m. Wednesday night, an unusually high number for one evening of storms, said Debbie Fox, deputy director for the Louisville Metro Emergency Management Agency.

Mayor Greg Fischer praised MetroSafe, which was harshly criticized in February after warning sirens failed to sound when a tornado touched down in eastern Jefferson County. A report on that incident blamed problems with technology and confusion inside the dispatch center as the reason the sirens weren’t sounded despite a tornado warning from the weather service.