STAFF REPORT

Residents in Boyle County were greeted with sirens on Friday morning in response to a tornado warning issued by the National Weather Service.

According to the NWS, an EF-1 tornado with 100 mph winds touched down in Mercer County near Harrodsburg. According to Mercer County Emergency Management, about 5,000 residents lost power due to the tornado.

The threat of a tornado was not the only natural disaster to affect the area Thursday. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, an earthquake with a magnitude 2.6 on the Richter scale, occurred at 3:07 a.m. about 2.5 miles east of Burgin. Earthquakes with a magnitude of 1.0 to 3.9 are considered minor by the USGS. Those measuring 4.0-4.9 are categorized as light, 5.0-5.9 are moderated, 6.0-6.9 are strong, 7.0-7.9 are major and anything above 7.9 is labeled as great.

The strongest earthquake ever recorded in Kentucky was magnitude 5.2 that occurred July 27, 1980 in Bath County.