2012 West Liberty tornado

=== Historical statistics ===

=== Historical statistics ===

[[File:20120302 tortracks.jpg|thumb|left|Tracks of tornadoes that occurred throughout Kentucky on March 2, 2012. The West Liberty tornado was one of two fatal EF3 tornadoes in eastern Kentucky.|alt=NOAA NWS map of tornadoes and the West Liberty EF3 tornado included that occurred predominantly in Kentucky on 2 March 2012]]

[[File:20120302 tortracks.jpg|thumb|left|Tracks of tornadoes that occurred throughout Kentucky on March 2, 2012. The West Liberty tornado was one of two fatal EF3 tornadoes in eastern Kentucky.|alt=NOAA NWS map of tornadoes and the West Liberty EF3 tornado included that occurred predominantly in Kentucky on 2 March 2012]]

This long-track, killer tornado occurred alongside [[Tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2012#Salyersville–Hager Hill–West Van Lear–Lovely, Kentucky/Kermit, West Virginia|another significant EF3 tornado]] that impacted [[Salyersville, Kentucky]], to [[Kermit, West Virginia]], during the [[Tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2012|March 2, 2012 tornado outbreak]]. This represented the first time since 1988 that an intense ([[Fujita scale|F3]]/[[Enhanced Fujita scale|EF3]]+) tornado was recorded in eastern Kentucky, with last one being an F3 tornado that struck [[Middlesboro, Kentucky|Middlesboro]] near the Tennessee–Virginia tri-state border area on May 9 that year.{{cite news|last=Upchurch|first=Taylor|date=May 9, 2018|title=Middlesboro community remembers 30th anniversary of deadly tornado|url=https://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/Middlesboro-community-remembers-30th-anniversary-of-deadly-tornado-482285641.html|newspaper=[[WLVT-TV]]|access-date=April 15, 2026}} During its respective 2012 outbreak, the West Liberty tornado was the longest tracked and lived tornado of the entire outbreak, lasting for 88 minutes along an {{convert|85|mi|km|abbr=on}} path across Menifee, Morgan, Lawrence, Johnson, Wayne and Lincoln Counties across Kentucky and West Virginia.{{cite web|title=Details on the March 2, 2012 Tornadoes|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303113147/http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/jkl/Headline_Images/20120302_tors/20120302_tortracks.jpg|publisher=National Weather Service – Jackson, Kentucky|access-date=April 15, 2026}} EF3 damage occurred in both states, though the highest wind estimate occurred in eastern Lawrence County, Kentucky, where winds of {{convert|140-150|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} were estimated per the [[National Centers for Environmental Information]].

This long-track, killer tornado occurred alongside [[Tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2012#Salyersville–Hager Hill–West Van Lear–Lovely, Kentucky/Kermit, West Virginia|another significant EF3 tornado]] that impacted [[Salyersville, Kentucky]], to [[Kermit, West Virginia]], during the [[Tornado outbreak of March 2–3, 2012|March 2, 2012 tornado outbreak]]. This represented the first time since 1988 that an intense ([[Fujita scale|F3]]/[[Enhanced Fujita scale|EF3]]+) tornado was recorded in eastern Kentucky, with last one being an F3 tornado that struck [[Middlesboro, Kentucky|Middlesboro]] near the Tennessee–Virginia tri-state border area on May 9 that year.{{cite news|last=Upchurch|first=Taylor|date=May 9, 2018|title=Middlesboro community remembers 30th anniversary of deadly tornado|url=https://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/Middlesboro-community-remembers-30th-anniversary-of-deadly-tornado-482285641.html|newspaper=[[WLVT-TV]]|access-date=April 15, 2026}} It was also the first EF3 tornado to strike West Virginia in nearly two years, since [[List of United States tornadoes from August to September 2010#September 16 event|one such tornado]] struck [[Belleville, West Virginia|Belleville]] back on September 16, 2010.{{cite web|agency=National Weather Service|title=Storm Events Database; Event Types: Tornado F3/EF3 and stronger in West Virginia; January 1, 2010 - December 31, 2012|url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=%28C%29+Tornado&beginDate_mm=01&beginDate_dd=01&beginDate_yyyy=2010&endDate_mm=12&endDate_dd=31&endDate_yyyy=2012&county=ALL&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=3&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=54%2CWEST+VIRGINIA|publisher=National Centers for Environmental Information|accessdate=April 19, 2026}}

During its respective 2012 outbreak, the West Liberty tornado was the longest tracked and lived tornado of the entire outbreak, lasting for 88 minutes along an {{convert|85|mi|km|abbr=on}} path across Menifee, Morgan, Lawrence, Johnson, Wayne and Lincoln Counties across Kentucky and West Virginia.{{cite web|title=Details on the March 2, 2012 Tornadoes|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303113147/http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/jkl/Headline_Images/20120302_tors/20120302_tortracks.jpg|publisher=National Weather Service – Jackson, Kentucky|access-date=April 15, 2026}} EF3 damage occurred in both states, though the highest wind estimate occurred in eastern Lawrence County, Kentucky, where winds of {{convert|140-150|mph|km/h|abbr=on}} were estimated per the [[National Centers for Environmental Information]].

=== Damage and casualties ===

=== Damage and casualties ===