title: Bogdanov affair

text: Urs Schreiber, then a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hamburg, noted that the mention of the Foucault pendulum was at odds with the papers' general tone, since they generally relied upon more "modern terminology". (According to George Johnson, the Foucault pendulum is "an icon of French science that would belong in any good Gallic spoof.") Schreiber identified five central ideas in the Bogdanovs' work—"'result' A" through "'result' E"—which are expressed in the jargon of statistical mechanics, topological field theory and cosmology. One bit of jargon, the Hagedorn temperature, comes from string theory, but as Schreiber notes, the paper does not use this concept in any detail; moreover, since the paper is manifestly not a string theory treatise, "considering the role the Hagedorn temperature plays in string cosmology, this is bordering on self-parody." Schreiber concludes that the fourth "result" (that the spacetime metric "at the initial singularity" must be Riemannian) contradicts the initial assumption of their argument (an FRW cosmology with "pseudo"-Riemannian metric). The fifth and last "result", Schreiber notes, is an attempt to resolve this contradiction by "invok[ing] quantum mechanics". The Bogdanovs themselves described Schreiber's summary as "very accurate"; for more on this point, see below. Schreiber concluded,


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Just to make sure: I do not think that any of the above is valid reasoning. I am writing this just to point out what I think are the central 'ideas' the authors had when writing their articles and how this led them to their conclusions.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Eli Hawkins of Pennsylvania State University voiced a similar concern about "The KMS state of spacetime at the Planck scale".


title: Bogdanov affair

text: The main result of this paper is that this thermodynamic equilibrium should be a KMS state. This almost goes without saying; for a quantum system, the KMS condition is just the concrete definition of thermodynamic equilibrium. The hard part is identifying the quantum system to which the condition should be applied, which is not done in this paper.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Both Baez and, later, Peter Woit noted that content was largely repeated from one Bogdanov paper to another.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Damien Calaque of the Louis Pasteur University, Strasbourg, criticized Grichka Bogdanov's unpublished preprint "Construction of cocycle bicrossproducts by twisting". In Calaque's estimation, the results presented in the preprint did not have sufficient novelty and interest to merit an independent journal article, and moreover the principal theorem was, in its current formulation, false: Grichka Bogdanov's construction yields a bialgebra which is not necessarily a Hopf algebra, the latter being a type of mathematical object which must satisfy additional conditions.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Eventually, the controversy attracted mainstream media attention, opening new avenues for physicists' comments to be disseminated. "Le Monde" quoted Alain Connes, recipient of the 1982 Fields Medal, as saying, "I didn't need long to convince myself that they're talking about things that they haven't mastered." "The New York Times" reported that the physicists David Gross, Carlo Rovelli and Lee Smolin considered the Bogdanov papers nonsensical. Nobel laureate Georges Charpak later stated on a French talk show that the Bogdanovs' presence in the scientific community was "nonexistent".


title: Bogdanov affair

text: ...Some of the papers of the Bogdanoff brothers are really painful and clearly silly ... But the most famous paper about the solution of the initial singularity is a bit different; it is more sophisticated.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: ...it does not surprise me much that Roman Jackiw said that the paper satisfied everything he expects from an acceptable paper—the knowledge of the jargon and some degree of original ideas. (And be sure that Jackiw, Kounnas, and Majid were not the only ones with this kind of a conclusion.)


title: Bogdanov affair

text: ...Technically, their paper connects too many things. It would be too good if all these ideas and (correct) formulae were necessary for a justification of a working solution to the initial singularity problem. But if one accepts that the papers about these difficult questions don't have to be just a well-defined science but maybe also a bit of inspiring art, the brothers have done a pretty good job, I think. And I want to know the answers to many questions that are opened in their paper.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Motl's measured support for "Topological field theory of the initial singularity of spacetime", however, stands in stark contrast to Robert Oeckl's official MathSciNet review, which states that the paper is "rife with nonsensical or meaningless statements and suffers from a serious lack of coherence," follows up with several examples to illustrate his point, and concludes that the paper "falls short of scientific standards and appears to have no meaningful content." An official report from the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), which became public in 2010, concluded that the paper ""ne peut en aucune façon être qualifié de contribution scientifique"" ("cannot in any way be considered a scientific contribution"). The CNRS report summarized the Bogdanovs' theses thusly: ""Ces thèses n’ont pas de valeur scientifique. […] Rarement aura-t-on vu un travail creux habillé avec une telle sophistication"" ("These theses have no scientific value. [...] Rarely have we seen a hollow work dressed with such sophistication""")"."


title: Bogdanov affair

text: One episode after the heyday of the affair involved the participation of an unidentified "Professor Yang". Using an e-mail address at the domain "th-phys.edu.hk", an individual publishing under this name wrote to a number of individuals and on the Internet to defend the Bogdanov papers. This individual wrote to physicists John Baez, Jacques Distler and Peter Woit; to "The New York Times" journalist Dennis Overbye; and on numerous physics blogs and forums, signing his name "Professor L. Yang—Theoretical Physics Laboratory, International Institute of Mathematical Physics—HKU/Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong." It is the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology which is located in Clear Water Bay, not Hong Kong University (HKU), whose main campus is located in the Mid-Levels of Hong Kong Island.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: The Bogdanovs have claimed that the "domain name 'th-phys.edu.hk' was owned by Hong Kong University." This was not confirmed officially by HKU and no Prof. Yang existed on the roster of the HKU physics department; nor did the university have an "International Institute of Mathematical Physics".


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Suspicions were consequently raised that Professor L. Yang was actually a pseudonym of the Bogdanovs. However, Igor Bogdanov has maintained that Professor Yang is a real mathematical physicist with expertise in KMS theory, a friend of his, and that he was posting anonymously from Igor's apartment.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: In 2002, the Bogdanovs launched a new weekly TV show "Rayons X" ("X Rays") on French public channel France 2. In August 2004, they presented a 90-minute special cosmology program in which they introduced their theory among other cosmological scenarios. The French mainstream media, in both the press and on the Internet, covered the renewed controversy to some extent; media outlets that reported upon it include "Acrimed" and "Ciel et Espace."


title: Bogdanov affair

text: In 2004, the Bogdanovs published a commercially successful popular science book, "Avant Le Big Bang" ("Before the Big Bang"), based on a simplified version of their theses, where they also presented their point of view about the affair. Both the book and the Bogdanovs' television shows have been criticized for elementary scientific and mathematical inaccuracies. Critics cite examples from "Avant Le Big Bang" including a statement that the "golden number" φ ("phi") is transcendental, an assumption that the limit of a decreasing sequence is always zero, and that the expansion of the Universe implies that the planets of the Solar System have grown farther apart.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: In October 2004, a journalist from "Ciel et Espace" interviewed Shahn Majid of Queen Mary, University of London about his report on Grichka Bogdanov's thesis. Majid said that the French version of his report on Grichka's thesis was "an unauthorized translation partially invented by the Bogdanovs." In one sentence, the English word "interesting" was translated as the French ""important"". A "draft [mathematical] construction" became ""la première construction [mathématique]"" ("the first [mathematical] construction"). Elsewhere, an added word demonstrated, according to Majid, that "Bogdanov does not understand his own draft results." Majid also described more than ten other modifications of meaning, each one biased towards ""surestimation outrancière""—"outrageous over-estimation". Majid said that his original report described a "very weak" student who nevertheless demonstrated "an impressive amount of determination to obtain a doctorate." Later, Majid claimed in a Usenet post that, in an addendum to "Avant Le Big Bang," Grichka intentionally misquoted Majid's opinion on the way this interview had been transcribed.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Additionally, in the same addendum, a critical analysis of their work made by Urs Schreiber, and affirmed by the Bogdanovs as "very accurate", was included with the exception of the concluding remark "Just to make sure: I do not think that any of the above is valid reasoning", thus inverting the meaning from criticism into ostensible support. Moreover, a comment by physicist Peter Woit written as, "It's certainly possible that you have some new worthwhile results on quantum groups", was translated as ""Il est tout à fait certain que vous avez obtenu des résultats nouveaux et utiles dans les groupes quantiques"" ("It is completely certain that you have obtained new and useful results on quantum groups") and published by the Bogdanovs in the addendum of their book.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: At the beginning of 2004, Igor Bogdanov began to post on French Usenet physics groups and Internet forums, continuing the pattern of behavior seen on "sci.physics.research." A controversy began on the French Wikipedia when Igor Bogdanov and his supporters began to edit that encyclopedia's , prompting the creation of a new article dedicated to the debate (""—"Debate surrounding the work of the Bogdanov brothers"). The dispute then spread to the English Wikipedia. In November 2005, this led the Arbitration Committee, a dispute resolution panel that acts as the project's court of last resort, to ban anyone deemed to be a participant in the external dispute from editing the English Wikipedia's article on the Bogdanov Affair. A number of English Wikipedia users, including Igor Bogdanov himself, were explicitly named in this ban. In 2006, Baez wrote on his website that for some time the Bogdanovs and "a large crowd of sock puppets" had been attempting to rewrite the English Wikipedia article on the controversy "to make it less embarrassing to them". "Nobody seems to be fooled", he added.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: In December 2004, the Bogdanovs sued "Ciel et Espace" for defamation over the publication of a critical article entitled "The Mystification of the Bogdanovs". In September 2006, the case was dismissed after the Bogdanovs missed court deadlines; they were ordered to pay 2,500 euros to the magazine's publisher to cover its legal costs. There was never a substantive ruling on whether the Bogdanovs had been defamed.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Alain Riazuelo, an astrophysicist at the Institut d'astrophysique de Paris, participated in many of the online discussions of the Bogdanovs' work. He posted an unpublished version of Grichka Bogdanov's PhD thesis on his personal website, along with his critical analysis. Bogdanov subsequently described this version as "dating from 1991 and too unfinished to be made public". Rather than suing Riazuelo for defamation, Bogdanov filed a criminal complaint of copyright ("droit d'auteur") violation against him in May 2011. The police detained and interrogated Riazuelo. He came to trial and was convicted in March 2012. A fine of 2,000 euros the court imposed was suspended, and only one euro of damages was awarded. But in passing judgement the court stated that the scientist had "lacked prudence", given "the fame of the plaintiff".


title: Bogdanov affair

text: The verdict outraged many scientists, who felt that the police and courts should have no say in a discussion of the scientific merits of a piece of work. In April 2012, a group of 170 scientists published an open letter titled "L'affaire Bogdanoff: Liberté, Science et Justice, Des scientifiques revendiquent leur droit au blâme" ("The Bogdanov Affair: Liberty, Science and Justice, scientists claim their right of critique").


title: Bogdanov affair

text: In 2014, the Bogdanovs sued the weekly magazine "Marianne" for defamation, on account of reporting the magazine had published in 2010 which had brought the CNRS report to light. The weekly was eventually ordered to pay 64,000 euros in damages, a quantity less than the Bogdanovs had originally demanded (in excess of 800,000 euros each). The Bogdanovs also sued the CNRS for 1.2 million euros in damages, claiming that the CNRS report had ""porté atteinte à leur honneur, à leur réputation et à leur crédit"" ("undermined their honor, reputation and credit") and calling the report committee a ""Stasi scientifique"", but a tribunal ruled against them in 2015 and ordered them to pay 2,000 euros.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: In 2005, the Bogdanovs became professors at Megatrend University in Belgrade where they were appointed Chairs of Cosmology and said to direct the Megatrend Laboratory of Cosmology. Mića Jovanović, the rector and owner of Megatrend University, wrote a preface for the Serbian edition of "Avant le Big Bang." Jovanović later became embroiled in controversy and resigned his post when it was revealed that he had not obtained a PhD at the London School of Economics as he had claimed. This scandal, combined with the presence of the Bogdanovs, contributed to an atmosphere of controversy surrounding Megatrend.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: In 2008, published "L'équation Bogdanov: le secret de l'origine de l'univers?" ("The Bogdanov Equation: The Secret of the Origin of the Universe?"), officially written in English by Luboš Motl and translated into French. A review in "Science et Vie" found that the book was light on detail and never actually said what the "Bogdanov equation" is: ""Et arrivé à la conclusion, on n'est même plus très certain qu'elle existe réellement"" ("Arriving at the conclusion, one is no longer even very certain that it really exists").


title: Bogdanov affair

text: During the heyday of this affair, some media coverage cast a negative light on theoretical physics, stating or at least strongly implying that it has become impossible to distinguish a valid paper from a hoax. Overbye's article in "The New York Times" voiced this opinion, for example, as did Declan Butler's piece in "Nature." Posters on blogs and Usenet used the affair to criticize the present status of string theory; for the same reason, Peter Woit devoted a chapter of "Not Even Wrong," a book emphatically critical of string theory, to the affair. On the other hand, George Johnson's report in "The New York Times" concludes that physicists have generally decided the papers are "probably just the result of fuzzy thinking, bad writing and journal referees more comfortable with correcting typos than challenging thoughts." String theorist Aaron Bergman riposted in a review of "Not Even Wrong" that Woit's conclusion


title: Bogdanov affair

text: is undermined by a number of important elisions in the telling of the story, the most important of which is that the writings of the Bogdanovs, to the extent that one can make sense of them, "have almost nothing to do with string theory." ... I first learned of the relevant papers in a posting on the internet by Dr. John Baez. Having found a copy of one of the relevant papers available online, I posted that "the referee clearly didn't even glance at it." While the papers were full of rather abstruse prose about a wide variety of technical areas, it was easy to identify outright nonsense in the areas about which I had some expertise. ... A pair of non-string theorists were able to get nonsensical papers generally not about string theory published in journals not generally used by string theorists. This is surely an indictment of something, but its relevance to string theory is marginal at best.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Jacques Distler argued that the tone of the media coverage had more to do with journalistic practices than with physics.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: The much-anticipated New York Times article on the Bogdanov scandal has appeared. Alas, it suffers from the usual journalistic conceit that a proper newspaper article must cover a "controversy". There must be two sides to the controversy, and the reporter's job is to elicit quotes from both parties and present them side-by-side. Almost inevitably, this "balanced" approach sheds no light on the matter, and leaves the reader shaking his head, ""There they go again...""


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Distler also suggested that the fact that the Bogdanovs had not uploaded their papers to the arXiv prior to publication, as was standard practice by that time, meant that the physics community must have paid vanishingly little attention to those papers before the hoax rumors broke.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: The affair prompted many comments about the possible shortcomings of the referral system for published articles, and also on the criteria for acceptance of a PhD thesis. Frank Wilczek, who edited "Annals of Physics" (and who would later share the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics), told the press that the scandal motivated him to correct the journal's slipping standards, partly by assigning more reviewing duties to the editorial board.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Prior to the controversy, the reports on the Bogdanov theses and most of the journal referees' reports spoke favorably of their work, describing it as original and containing interesting ideas. This has been the basis of concerns raised about the efficacy of the peer-review system that the scientific community and academia use to determine the merit of submitted manuscripts for publication; one concern is that over-worked and unpaid referees may not be able to thoroughly judge the value of a paper in the little time they can afford to spend on it. Regarding the Bogdanov publications, physicist Steve Carlip remarked:


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Referees are volunteers, who as a whole put in a great deal of work for no credit, no money, and little or no recognition, for the good of the community. Sometimes a referee makes a mistake. Sometimes two referees make mistakes at the same time.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: I'm a little surprised that anyone is surprised at this. Surely you've seen bad papers published in good journals before this! ... referees give opinions; the real peer review begins after a paper is published.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Similarly, Richard Monastersky, writing in "The Chronicle of Higher Education", observed, "There is one way...for physicists to measure the importance of the Bogdanovs' work. If researchers find merit in the twins' ideas, those thoughts will echo in the references of scientific papers for years to come." Before the controversy over their work arose, the scientific community had shown practically no interest in the Bogdanovs' papers; indeed, according to Stony Brook physics professor Jacobus Verbaarschot, who served on Igor Bogdanov's dissertation committee, without the hoax rumors "probably no one would have ever known about their articles." , the Bogdanovs' most recent paper was "Thermal Equilibrium and KMS Condition at the Planck Scale", which was submitted to the "Chinese Annals of Mathematics" in 2001 and appeared in 2003. That journal ceased publication in 2005. One retrospective commented,


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Several sources have referred to the Bogdanov affair as a "reverse Sokal" hoax, drawing a comparison with the Sokal affair, where the physicist Alan Sokal published a deliberately fraudulent and indeed nonsensical article in the humanities journal "Social Text." Sokal's original aim had been to test the effects of the intellectual trend he called, "for want of a better term, postmodernism". Worried by what he considered a "more-or-less explicit rejection of the rationalist tradition of the Enlightenment", Sokal decided to perform an experiment which he later cheerfully admitted was both unorthodox and uncontrolled, provoking a maelstrom of reactions which, to his surprise, received coverage in "Le Monde" and even the front page of "The New York Times." The physicist John Baez compared the two events in his October 2002 post to the "sci.physics.research" newsgroup. Sociologist of science Harry Collins noted that all of the early reports of the incident made reference to the Sokal affair, and he speculated that without Sokal's precedent bringing the idea of hoax publications to mind, the Bogdanov papers would have sunk into the general obscurity of non-influential scientific writing.


title: Bogdanov affair

text: Igor and Grichka Bogdanov have and had vigorously insisted upon the validity of their work, while in contrast, Sokal was an outsider to the field in which he was publishing—a physicist, publishing in a humanities journal—and promptly issued a statement himself that his paper was a deliberate hoax. Replying on "sci.physics.research", Sokal referred readers to his follow-up essay, in which he notes "the mere fact of publication of my parody" only proved that the editors of one particular journal—and a "rather marginal" one at that—had applied a lax intellectual standard. (According to "The New York Times", Sokal was "almost disappointed" that the Bogdanovs had not attempted a hoax after his own style. "What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander", he said.) Baez, who made a comparison between the two affairs, later retracted, saying that the brothers "have lost too much face for [withdrawing the work as a hoax] to be a plausible course of action".


title: Bogdanov affair

text: In a letter to "The New York Times", Cornell physics professor Paul Ginsparg wrote that the contrast between the cases was plainly evident: "here, the authors were evidently aiming to be credentialed by the intellectual prestige of the discipline rather than trying to puncture any intellectual pretension." He added that the fact some journals and scientific institutions have low or variable standards is "hardly a revelation". The observation was later confirmed by studies showing that high-prestige journals struggle to reach average reliability.


title: Tornado outbreak of December 10–11, 2021

text: A deadly late-season tornado outbreak, the deadliest on record in December, produced catastrophic damage and numerous fatalities across portions of the Southern United States and Ohio Valley from the evening of December 10 to the early morning of December 11, 2021. The event developed as a trough progressed eastward across the United States, interacting with an unseasonably moist and unstable environment across the Mississippi Valley. Tornado activity began in northeastern Arkansas, before progressing into Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky.


text: The most prolific activity was caused by a long-track supercell thunderstorm that produced a family of strong tornadoes that traveled across four Mid-South states. The fifth of these nocturnal tornadoes and first notable tornado of the event, rated low-end EF4, touched down in northeastern Arkansas, near Jonesboro, before causing major damage in and near towns such as Monette and Leachville, Arkansas. It crossed the Missouri Bootheel, causing additional damage and fatalities near Braggadocio and Hayti. After crossing the Mississippi River into northwestern West Tennessee, that tornado dissipated, and a high-end EF4 tornado formed and moved through Western Kentucky, where the towns of Cayce, Mayfield, Benton, Princeton, Dawson Springs, and Bremen suffered severe to catastrophic damage.


text: Early estimates suggested that the tornado family—identified by some media outlets as the "Quad-State tornado", due to the storm's similar characteristics to the Tri-State tornado that occurred 96 years prior—may have cut a path of up to across the affected areas. If it had been a single tornado, it would have surpassed the March 18, 1925, tornado event (which carved a path across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana) in terms of path length. However, storm surveys found that the path was predominantly composed of two distinct EF4 tornadoes, with the portion of the path between them over northwestern Obion County, Tennessee being from three separate, weak tornadoes. The parent supercell that produced the two EF4 tornadoes, and eleven tornadoes in total, later became known as the "Quad-State supercell". Other tornadic thunderstorms affected portions of eastern Missouri, Southern Illinois, West and Middle Tennessee, and Western and central Kentucky during the late evening into the overnight hours of December 11, including four intense tornadoes that hit Bowling Green, Kentucky; Dresden, Tennessee; Edwardsville, Illinois; and Defiance, Missouri. This included a second supercell and tornado family, which produced an EF3 tornado tracking nearly in Tennessee and southern Kentucky, as well as numerous tornadoes, including three more rated EF3, throughout southern and central Kentucky.


text: The death toll from the outbreak was 89 (with six additional non-tornadic fatalities), surpassing the Tornado outbreak sequence of December 1–6, 1953, which caused 49 fatalities, as the deadliest December tornado event ever recorded in the United States. In Kentucky alone, 74 people were killed by three separate tornadoes. In addition, at least 667 people were injured. The tornado outbreak caused at least $3.9 billion (2022 USD) in damages. The outbreak set a new record for confirmed tornadoes in the month of December, with 71, a record that only stood until December 15, when a larger outbreak produced 120 tornadoes across the Midwest.


text: On December 8, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) delineated a slight risk of severe weather along much of the Mississippi Valley. Despite the potential for a higher-end severe threat to materialize, forecasters expressed uncertainty regarding the extent of instability, degree of directional wind shear, and late timing of potential storms. The following day, the SPC discussed higher certainty in a corridor of organized severe thunderstorm potential stretching from southeastern Arkansas northeast into southern Indiana, upgrading that region to an enhanced risk.


text: As an intense upper-level trough progressed across the High Plains, with robust instability and moisture return realized across the Mississippi Valley, the SPC expanded the enhanced risk and introduced a moderate risk area from northeastern Arkansas into southern Illinois on the morning of December 10. Forecasters indicated that atmospheric conditions favored the development of nocturnal supercells capable of producing long-tracked, strong tornadoes.


text: At 3:00 p.m. CST (21:00 UTC), the SPC issued a tornado watch across the highest risk area (encompassing central and eastern Arkansas, west Tennessee, northwestern Mississippi, southeastern Missouri, and southern portions of Illinois and Indiana), the first of eleven issued over subsequent hours over the middle Mississippi Valley. Initial storms developed across central Arkansas around 2:00 p.m. CST (20:00 UTC), with even weaker activity developing over central Missouri a little over hours later; additional clusters of thunderstorms developed over southwestern Missouri (forming between Bolivar and Carthage, eventually back-building into northeastern Oklahoma) and central Arkansas (forming southwest of Hot Springs) between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. CST (23:00–23:30 UTC). Though this activity lacked much vigor at its onset due to a strong capping inversion, the convective cells began to show organization as they progressed eastward.


text: One such storm—which formed from the initial mid-afternoon activity near Arkadelphia, Arkansas—matured into a long-lived supercell as it progressed in an unstable, deeply moist, and highly sheared environment; this cell ultimately persisted for longer than over several hours from eastern Arkansas to northeastern Kentucky, producing two large and intense tornadoes along its track, among eleven tornadoes in total. The cell began exhibiting surface-based rotation southwest of Searcy, Arkansas around 5:30 p.m. CST (23:30 UTC). At 5:51 p.m. CST, the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock issued the first tornado warning associated with the storm for portions of Jackson, Lawrence, White, and Woodruff counties. One of the first tornadoes associated with the storm, an EF0, touched down in western Poinsett County (near Weiner) around 6:40 p.m. CST; about fifteen minutes later, storm spotters reported a large tornado near Greenfield, prompting a PDS tornado warning for portions of Poinsett, Craighead and Mississippi counties (including areas to the south of Jonesboro).


text: Doppler radar analysis estimated that the supercell maintained a nearly continuous high-end rotational vorticity signature, averaging at for approximately four hours and 20 minutes, among a rarity of thunderstorms (averaging 1.5% of all supercells) that produce mesocyclonic vorticity exceeding such speeds. (The only velocities below said average recorded along the storm track, sustained between , were observed from 8:44 to 9:01 p.m. CST [02:44–3:01 UTC], as the storm crossed from Obion County, Tennessee into Hickman County, Kentucky). This time frame coincides with the start of the main tornado, following three weak tornadoes that split the two EF4's paths, implying the supercell underwent a mesocyclone re-strengthening phase during this period. During the second, more intense tornado, peak gate-to-gate velocities of were recorded at 9:58 p.m. CST (04:58 UTC) over northeastern Marshall County, Kentucky.


text: Elsewhere, multiple lines of intense storms, some featuring embedded supercells, developed across the Mississippi Valley region through the overnight hours, contributing to additional strong and long-lived tornadoes. By the pre-dawn hours of December 11, a decrease in instability led to a gradual weakening of a line of thunderstorms stretching along the associated cold front from eastern Kentucky southward into central Alabama.


text: The SPC issued a record-setting 43 mesoscale discussions (MCD) throughout the course of the day (12 UTC December 10 to 12 UTC December 11), all of which were associated with the broader storm system: 38 of the MCDs issued were convective discussions relating to the severe thunderstorm activity, and five were non-convective discussions relating to heavy snow associated with the system that concurrently fell throughout much of the Upper Midwest. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a total of 149 tornado warnings throughout the night across portions of nine states including Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana.


text: Multiple PDS tornado warnings and tornado emergencies were also issued as well in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri. Eight of the tornado warnings issued during the event by the NWS offices in Memphis, Tennessee, and Paducah, Kentucky were tornado emergency declarations, the most issued during the month of December (breaking the previous record of three issued on December 23, 2015).


text: Effects from the system responsible for the outbreak extended into Canada, where the Meteorological Service of Canada issued wind and heavy rainfall warnings for portions of Ontario. However, no tornadoes were expected nor reported north of the border.


text: This violent, long-tracked, and deadly EF4 wedge tornado was the fifth of eleven spawned by the Quad-State supercell, and the first of two violent tornadoes produced by the storm. It first touched down in Craighead County, Arkansas, just north of Bay, at 7:07 p.m. CST (01:07 UTC) on the evening of December 10, initially causing minor EF0 tree and outbuilding damage. As it moved through the south side of Bowman, it caused EF0 to EF1 damage as roofs were damaged, power poles and tree limbs were downed, and a radio antennae at a residence was bent. The tornado quickly intensified to EF2 strength as it crossed AR 18 and passed northwest of Lake City, downing trees and damaging or destroying some metal outbuildings. A house also sustained minor damage in this area. It grew to a width of as it crossed County Road 505 and tracked to the northeast, snapping power poles and unroofing a house along County Road 10. Another house sustained major roof damage in this area, an irrigation pivot sprinkler was overturned, and a silo was damaged. The tornado reached EF3 strength as it moved through the western and northern fringes of Monette at 7:23 p.m. CST (01:23 UTC), resulting in significant damage. Two industrial buildings were destroyed at the west edge of town, and many trees and power poles were snapped. The Monette Manor nursing home was struck by the tornado, killing one person and trapping 20 other residents and employees. The building sustained major structural damage, losing much of its roof and sustaining collapse of some masonry exterior walls. Multiple homes and mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in a neighborhood near the nursing home, and several large grain silos were torn apart. In addition to the fatality, five people were reported seriously injured in Monette. State Highways 135 and 139 were also shut down near the town due to downed power lines on the roadways.


text: The tornado continued at EF3 intensity as it crossed into northwestern Mississippi County, striking Leachville at 7:30 p.m. CST (01:30 UTC). There, it completely destroyed a local Dollar General store, killing the store's assistant manager. A few metal-framed warehouse buildings were badly damaged or destroyed nearby, cars and semi-trailers were tossed, and multiple homes and mobile homes were damaged or destroyed in town. Extensive tree damage also occurred, and businesses in downtown Leachville had roofing blown off. The tornado grew larger as it passed near the rural community of Buckeye, and very intense tree damage was noted along West County Road 38. An entire row of large trees were completely debarked and denuded at this location, and an EF3 rating was applied. Power poles were snapped and an outbuilding was also destroyed by the tornado in this area. As it crossed the state line into Dunklin County in the Missouri Bootheel at 7:40 p.m. CST (01:40 UTC), high-end EF2 damage occurred as multiple outbuildings, mobile homes, and houses were damaged or destroyed, and many power poles and trees were snapped, with some low-end debarking noted. It continued south of Hornersville and over the Hornersville Swamp Conservation Area, briefly weakening to EF1 intensity. Trees and power poles were damaged in this area, and a mobile home also sustained minor damage. Farther to the northeast, the damage became more severe again as multiple metal truss transmission towers were twisted or collapsed near County Road 722, and damage in this area was rated EF3. A house along the periphery of the circulation sustained minor damage, and some power poles were pushed over as well. High-end EF2 damage occurred as the tornado then crossed into Pemiscot County west of Steele. Trees were snapped and denuded, power poles were downed, a couple of homes were heavily damaged, and a pickup truck was tossed along this segment of the path. The tornado became weak again as it passed just south of Braggadocio at EF1 intensity, damaging or destroying some barns and outbuildings, and inflicting roof damage to homes. However, the tornado abruptly became violent as it moved through the intersection of State Highway J and County Highway 407 to the east of town, causing EF4 damage as two homes were swept from their foundations and scattered across fields. A nine-year-old girl was killed, and her parents and two younger sisters were injured in the destruction of one of the homes. As it crossed Interstate 55 just south of Hayti, the large wedge tornado weakened back to EF2 strength and blew multiple semi-trailer trucks off the highway into a field, injuring the drivers. A car was also thrown, fatally injuring the driver. In addition to the two fatalities, at least nine people overall were injured in the county.


text: East of Hayti, the tornado caused additional EF2 power pole damage and then crossed the Mississippi River into Lake County, Tennessee around 8:20 p.m. CST (02:20 UTC). It briefly crossed a bend in the river back into Missouri before crossing into Lake County again. Moving through central Lake County, the tornado narrowly missed the small community of Wynnburg, producing EF3 damage in rural areas outside of town, where numerous large trees were snapped and denuded, some of which sustained debarking. Some metal high-tension power poles were bent to the ground as well. The tornado reached peak intensity a second time near Tiptonville as it moved across the southern shore of Reelfoot Lake, striking the Cypress Point Resort and resulting in three fatalities. A bait and tackle shop sustained EF4 damage as it was swept clean from its foundation, with only a bare concrete slab remaining. Multiple cottages, houses, and cabins were also destroyed, while a couple of two-story hotel buildings sustained total destruction of their top floors, and collapse of many walls on their first floors, with damage to those structures rated EF3. A gift shop and a restaurant also sustained severe damage, large amounts of debris was scattered throughout the area, and several people sustained serious injuries at the resort. The tornado crossed the southeastern part of the lake, before moving ashore again as it entered Obion County, causing high-end EF2 damage as it damaged or destroyed cabins, outbuildings, and houses along Lake Drive. Continuing at high-end EF2 strength, the tornado narrowed as it impacted the small town of Samburg, resulting in major damage along Highway 22. Houses in town had roofs and exterior walls ripped off, RV campers were tossed, and mobile homes were destroyed. The city hall building, post office, a gas station, and several other buildings were damaged or destroyed as well. One person was killed in town, and others were injured. Northeast of town, the tornado began to weaken, with the roof being blown off a farm building along Old Samburg Road. Trees and tree limbs were also downed, and damage was rated EF1 in this area. It continued northeastward along the road, causing EF0 tree limb damage until it dissipated approximately northeast of Samburg at 8:36 p.m. CST (02:36 UTC).


text: The tornado was rated as a low-end EF4 with winds estimated at , reaching a peak width of along an path through portions of three states, remaining on the ground for 89 minutes. Eight fatalities occurred, along with many injuries, some of which were serious. After the tornado dissipated, the parent supercell entered a cycling phase, producing three brief tornadoes, one rated EF1 and the other two rated EF0, in Obion County northeast of Samburg and west of Union City. As the storm passed to the northwest of Union City, it produced a stronger, longer-tracked tornado near Woodland Mills.


text: A tornado touched down northeast of Pontoon Beach in Madison County, Illinois, on the northwest side of the intersection of Interstates 255 and 270, at 8:27 p.m. CST (02:27 UTC) on the evening of December 10. The tornado was initially weak, with damage at the beginning of the path being limited to downed highway signs, a bent light pole, and some orange construction barrels that were tossed around. Damage in this area was rated EF0 to EF1. Rapidly strengthening and growing to a width of , the tornado reached EF3 strength as it tracked northeast towards Edwardsville. It struck an Amazon warehouse along Chain Of Rocks Road, where night workers were beginning their shifts and several employees were attending a Christmas party being held as the tornado approached the facility. Six people were killed when the roof was lifted off the building, and the west-facing walls of the structure collapsed inward, causing a progressive structural failure that resulted in total destruction of most of the warehouse. Employees were told to shelter in bathrooms.


text: Between 50 and 100 people were trapped in the collapsed remnants of the warehouse, and about 30 survivors were brought to the Pontoon Beach police station in a bus after being extracted from the rubble. One person was air-flown via helicopter to a hospital. Debris from the structure was strewn downwind, cars were thrown from the parking lot, and multiple power poles and metal truss transmission towers were downed nearby. The tornado weakened to high-end EF1 intensity as it crossed Sand Road, snapping trees and completely destroying some outbuildings and an unanchored mobile home. As it entered the southwest side of Edwardsville, the tornado moved through the Sunset Hills Golf and Country Club, causing EF1 damage as trees and power lines were downed, homes sustained roof damage, and sheds were damaged or destroyed. EF0 damage occurred in neighborhoods just beyond this point, with minor tree and roof damage noted. The tornado dissipated near the corner of Doral Court and Butler Boulevard at 8:35 p.m. CST (08:35 UTC) after being on the ground for . In addition to the six fatalities, one other person was injured.


text: After the first long-tracked EF4 tornado dissipated over western Obion County, Tennessee, the associated supercell underwent a brief mesocyclone cycling phase, producing three weak, short-lived tornadoes. Minutes later, it spawned a new long-tracked violent tornado in northern Obion County near Woodland Mills at 8:49 p.m. CST (02:49 UTC). The tornado crossed into Kentucky near the community of State Line and rapidly intensified to EF4 strength as it struck Cayce at about 9:00 p.m. CST (03:00 UTC), where major damage occurred to homes, businesses, a school building, and the town's fire station. A few buildings were leveled or swept away. One person was killed in the town, and others were injured. It then moved northeast through rural areas in Fulton and Hickman counties, causing deep scouring of the ground in open fields. Homes and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed, a cell tower was toppled to the ground, and damage in these areas was rated EF2 to EF3.


text: Closely paralleling Interstate 69 and U.S. 45 into Graves County, the tornado moved directly toward Mayfield, entering the southwestern portion of the city at 9:25 p.m. CST as it reached EF4 intensity. One minute later, at 9:26 p.m. CST, the National Weather Service office in Paducah issued a tornado emergency for Mayfield. Radar analysis indicated that debris had been lofted up to into the tornado as it struck the town. Catastrophic damage occurred as the violent tornado tore directly through the Mayfield Downtown Commercial District at high-end EF4 intensity, where numerous large, well-built brick buildings were destroyed, many of which completely collapsed with only piles of rubble remaining. Three large churches were destroyed, and the Graves County Courthouse lost much of its roof, had its clock tower torn off, and had some of its exterior upper-floor walls knocked down. The fire station, city hall, and police station in the city were also destroyed, and the water tower was blown over and smashed to pieces. Entire neighborhoods were destroyed, with numerous homes being leveled or swept from their foundations, and cars were thrown and mangled. Hundreds of large trees were snapped, denuded, and debarked throughout Mayfield, numerous power lines were downed, and the town's emergency operations center lost the ability to transmit radio communications. About 110 people were left trapped at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory when the tornado hit the facility, completely flattening the building to the ground and tossing industrial vehicles. A total of 8 employees were killed, and several others were injured. Allegedly, workers' jobs were threatened if they left the factory between the first and second tornado warnings for the area, and then again after the second tornado warning sounded. The deaths of the workers at the candle factory prompted the launch of an investigation into the facility's protocols by state authorities. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear stated that over 50 people died in the city during a live phone interview with Louisville CBS affiliate WLKY on December 11. However, it was later determined that a total of 22 people were killed in Mayfield, and many others were injured.


text: The tornado's projected path towards several towns prompted the National Weather Service's Paducah office to issue additional tornado emergencies over the next two hours as the tornado tracked to the northeast, devastating multiple small towns and communities. Continuing northeast along I-69 into Marshall County, it continued to produce major damage as it struck the northwestern and northern outskirts of Benton around 9:45 p.m., damaging and destroying numerous homes and outbuildings at EF2 to EF3 strength, and downing countless trees and power poles. Continuing to the northeast, EF4 damage occurred in the lakeshore community of Cambridge Shores at 9:56 p.m. Dozens of large lakeside homes were leveled or swept away, and hundreds of trees were mowed down and debarked. After passing over Lake Barkley and destroying more homes in that area, the tornado moved into Caldwell County through the south edge of Princeton, producing EF4 damage. Many houses were completely leveled at the Princeton Golf and Country Club Subdivision, the University of Kentucky Research Center was destroyed, and four fatalities occurred in the Princeton area. EF4 damage continued as it moved into Dawson Springs around 10:30 p.m. CST. The small town was devastated by the tornado, and residential sections of town were the hardest-hit, as entire blocks of homes were flattened and reduced to rubble. An American Legion post was leveled, an apartment complex was destroyed, vehicles were thrown and piled on top of each other, and multiple large industrial warehouses were completely destroyed as the tornado exited town. A total of 14 people died from the tornado in Dawson Springs, including a two-month-old baby who was taken off life support two days after the tornado hit. A photograph taken in 1942 was lofted from a destroyed house in Dawson Springs and transported for almost by the intense tornadic updrafts, eventually being found in New Albany, Indiana.


text: In the small community of Barnsley, just south of Earlington, the tornado derailed a CSX freight train, knocking over 25 of the train's freight cars, some of which were thrown from the tracks. One freight car was tossed into a house, and many other homes were completely destroyed in and around Barnsley, and damage was rated high-end EF3. The tornado then intensified dramatically as it struck Bremen, where multiple homes were obliterated and swept away at high-end EF4 strength in the northern part of town. Large trees were completely stripped of their limbs and debarked, grass was scoured from the ground, and cars were lofted through the air and severely mangled in this area. A total of 11 people were killed in and around Bremen, with victims ranging between the ages of 5 months and 75 years. Among the fatalities was District Judge Brian Crick, who represented both Muhlenberg and McLean counties, as confirmed in a statement from the Supreme Court of Kentucky on December 11. Multiple residents suffered injuries that required medical attention.


text: Crossing into Ohio County, the tornado passed just north of Centertown and Hartford, crossing U.S. 231, Interstate 165 and the Rough River. EF2 to EF3 damage occurred in this area as multiple houses sustained major structural damage or were destroyed, metal power poles were snapped, mobile homes were obliterated, and many large trees were snapped and twisted. Large hay bales, RV campers, and tractors were thrown along this segment of the path as well. The tornado crossed the Rough River a total of eleven times in Ohio, Grayson and Breckinridge counties, producing EF1 to EF2 damage to many structures, and downing countless trees along its northeastward track. After crossing the river for a final time northeast of Falls of Rough, it re-entered Grayson County and dissipated at 11:47 p.m. CST (5:47 UTC) as it began to enter Rough River Dam State Resort Park near Rough River Lake, approximately west of McDaniels. The tornado was on the ground for nearly three hours, with a path length of , a Kentucky state record and one of the longest continuous paths in recorded history.


text: This intense, long-tracked tornado first touched down in the northeastern part of Newbern in Dyer County, Tennessee at 10:32 p.m. CST and quickly intensified as it moved northeastward at EF2 strength. Several homes suffered significant damage to their roofs and garages, and some houses had carports ripped off. Many trees were snapped or uprooted, and power lines were downed. The most significant damage in Newbern occurred along Washington Street, where a gas station was destroyed. The metal canopy over the gas pumps was blown away, and the convenience store was completely destroyed, leaving two people trapped inside who had to be extracted from the rubble. A detached garage was also destroyed with the debris scattered downwind, and an elementary school and a vocational school also sustained damage. Exiting Newbern and moving to the northeast, the tornado weakened to EF1 intensity and crossed into Gibson County, where tree damage occurred and a house along Cool Springs Road had part of its roof blown off. As it crossed Baseline Road, it ripped roofing material and a screened-in patio off of a house, and blew in one of its exterior walls. Trees and power poles were snapped in this area, and damage was rated low-end EF2. As it crossed Morella Road farther to the northeast, it produced EF3 damage as a house was destroyed and left with only interior rooms standing. A nearby three-story home had its top floor blown off, another house was unroofed and pushed off of its foundation, and the damage to those two residences was rated EF2.


text: The strong tornado then struck Kenton, causing severe damage as it moved through residential areas in the southern part of town. Numerous homes had their roofs torn off and were heavily damaged, and a majority of the damage in Kenton was rated EF2. However, one house along South Poplar Street had its roof removed and exterior walls collapsed, earning an EF3 rating. Sheds and detached garages were destroyed, and many large trees were snapped or uprooted in town, some of which landed on houses. It then weakened and clipped the southeast corner of Obion County, before entering Weakley County and passing north of Sharon. EF1 damage to trees and structures was noted along this portion of the path. Past Sharon, the tornado began to strengthen again, reaching EF2 strength as it partially destroyed a one-story home near the corner of SR 89 and Macedonia Church Road. High-end EF2 damage occurred along Deer Run Drive as the tornado followed Tennessee State Route 89 to the northeast. Homes in this area sustained loss of their roofs and upper-floor exterior walls, and one house had its entire second story blown away and destroyed. The tornado then reached high-end EF3 intensity and caused major damage as it tore directly though Dresden. The downtown section of Dresden was severely damaged, and multiple brick businesses sustained major structural damage, a few of which were completely destroyed. The First United Methodist Church, the Dresden Fire Department, the Dresden Enterprise newspaper office, a market, a hardware store, restaurants, convenience stores, two automotive repair shops, and other buildings all sustained significant damage or were destroyed. Some metal-framed buildings were also destroyed, and the Weakley County Courthouse sustained some minor damage to its exterior. Vehicles were flipped and tossed and numerous homes were damaged or destroyed, including a couple of small homes that were leveled or swept from their foundations. Many large trees were snapped, denuded, or uprooted throughout Dresden, and debris from buildings was left scattered throughout the town, with some left tangled in power lines or wrapped around trees. At least one person was injured, and approximately 100 structures were badly damaged or destroyed in town. The tornado then weakened again and continued to the northeast, causing EF1 tree damage in rural areas of Weakley County.


text: The tornado then moved into Henry County and continued south of Cottage Grove at EF3 intensity. It produced severe damage along Cox Road and Veasey Road, where it tore the second story off a two-story home, while leaving another nearby house with only interior walls standing. A mobile home was also thrown across a road and destroyed in this area. Farther northeast, EF3 damage continued as a well-built brick home along Blake School Road was completely shifted off of its foundation, with its deck destroyed and several walls knocked down. Several other homes along this part of the path sustained partial to total roof loss, trees were downed, while grain silos and a number of outbuildings were destroyed. The tornado then weakened as it crossed US 641, and a building sustained EF1 roof damage in this area. The tornado began to strengthen again as it moved through rural areas to the southeast of Puryear, and EF2 damage occurred along Old Paris Murray Road, where a cabin and a barn were destroyed. A mobile home was destroyed, another mobile home was damaged by falling trees, and a house had shingles ripped off along this segment of the path as well, and damage to those structures was rated EF1. Further strengthening occurred and high-end EF2 damage was noted near Buchanan, as homes along SR 140 sustained roof and exterior wall loss, and debris was scattered into fields. Other homes in this area were damaged to a lesser degree, and many trees were downed, with damage in those areas rated EF1. The tornado continued to the northeast past Oak Hill and through the small community of Cypress Creek near the western shore of Kentucky Lake. Numerous homes sustained considerable roof damage in Cypress Creek, and hundreds of trees were downed, some of which landed on houses. Some mobile homes were damaged or destroyed as well, and damage along this section of the path was rated EF1 to EF2. Five people were injured in Henry County. Weakening to EF0 strength, the tornado clipped the Fort Donelson National Battlefield in the extreme southeast corner of Calloway County, Kentucky, knocking down some trees. It then moved across Kentucky Lake and into Stewart County, Tennessee. Moving through the Tennessee portion of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, the tornado intensified again and downed thousands of trees. It caused EF2 damage as it passed to the south of Bumpus Mills, where a well-built brick home had its roof and second story torn off. Farm outbuildings were also destroyed, a few barns and single-wide trailers were flattened, and other single-wide and double-wide mobile homes had their roofs lifted off. Four people were injured in Stewart County. The tornado continued northeast across the far northwest corner of Fort Campbell Army Base, continuing to blow down trees before entering Christian County, Kentucky.


text: Passing just south of Lafayette, Kentucky, two large barns were destroyed, several electrical transmission lines and many trees were knocked down, a house along Old Clarksville Pike sustained roof damage, and damage near Lafayette was rated EF2. Maintaining EF2 intensity, the tornado moved over mostly open country before causing significant damage to several homes on Boddie Road and Darnell Road to the south of Herndon. A church sustained damage to its roof and steeple in this area, while silos and irrigation pivot sprinklers were destroyed as well. On Palmyra Road, EF2 damage continued to occur as several homes, farm outbuildings, and other structures were badly damaged or destroyed. Farther to the northeast, a mobile home was completely demolished, trees and power poles were snapped, barns were destroyed, a house had its roof torn off, while other homes sustained roof and garage damage near Herndon Oak Grove Road, and damage was again rated EF2. Maintaining its strength, the tornado approached Interstate 24, where numerous trees were snapped or uprooted, a garage was destroyed, and some houses sustained roof damage. Along Fort Campbell Blvd (US 41A), EF1 to EF2 damage occurred as a mile-wide swath of wooden power poles was snapped, a tall silo was blown over, many trees were downed, a house had damage to its roof, and barns were destroyed. The tornado then inflicted EF2 damage to a tobacco farm along Bradshaw Road, causing millions of dollars in damage. Four tobacco barns, three equipment garages, and multiple silos were destroyed on the property, while two outbuildings were damaged and a house sustained roof damage as well. Continuing to the northeast at EF2 strength, the tornado struck the town of Pembroke directly, where numerous large trees were snapped or uprooted, and multiple homes sustained considerable roof damage, including two houses that had their roofs torn off along Mason Lane at the south edge of town. Garages, grain silos, and outbuilding structures were damaged or destroyed in town, and Pembroke Elementary School had much of its roof blown off. Some brick buildings in downtown Pembroke were also heavily damaged, including a church that had its steeple torn off. As the tornado exited town and moved to the northeast, two mobile homes were completely destroyed at low-end EF2 strength, injuring the occupants. Crossing into Todd County, the tornado weakened to EF1 intensity and damaged more outbuildings and downed more trees. A large two-story house along Maton Road sustained broken windows and had minor roof damage. Some additional EF1 tree damage occurred just beyond this point before the tornado dissipated at Tress Shop Road west of Elkton at 12:36 a.m. CST (06:36 UTC), with straight-line winds becoming dominant beyond this point. Despite the severe damage in multiple areas along the path, no fatalities occurred, although 13 people were injured. The total path length of the tornado was , the second-longest tracked tornado of the outbreak. The supercell associated with this tornado produced another EF3 tornado approximately to the east in Logan County, and yet another EF3 tornado in Bowling Green.


text: After the Logan County EF3 tornado lifted, the same supercell produced this intense, destructive, and deadly tornado at around 1:09 a.m. CST (07:09 UTC) on December 11 in Warren County, southwest of Bowling Green. It first touched down south of the intersection of Wimpee Smith Road and Petros Browning Road, where EF0 tree damage occurred. Near Tommy Smith Road, the tornado quickly began to strengthen and reached EF2 intensity. Many trees were downed, a horse trailer was thrown into a ravine, while multiple barns and farm buildings were completely destroyed in this area. Just northeast of this point, high-end EF2 damage occurred as the tornado crossed KY 1083, where multiple homes and outbuildings were damaged or destroyed. This included one house that sustained complete removal of its roof and exterior walls, and was left with only an interior hallway standing. Based on scouring of corn stubble in fields, and analysis of damage patterns visible in aerial drone video taken in this area, damage surveyors determined that the tornado displayed an unusual internal structure during this initial portion of its path. There appeared to be a smaller circulation that produced an intense, narrow path of damage embedded within a broader, weaker circulation that caused less intense damage. The tornado weakened to EF1 strength as it crossed Van Meter Road and Fuqua Road, but continued to cause extensive tree damage. A one-story home also sustained minor roof damage along Fuqua Road. Additional EF1 damage occurred as it crossed LC Carr Road and Blue Level Road, where some barns and outbuildings were damaged, homes sustained siding and gutter damage, and trees were snapped. The Zomi Agape church sustained considerable roof damage, and insulation from the building was strewn in all directions. As the tornado began to enter the western fringes of Bowling Green, it rapidly intensified and became strong again as it produced EF3 damage to homes along Rembrandt Court. Here, multiple homes were destroyed and left with only interior rooms standing, one of which was moved off of its foundation. Nearby, the tornado moved across Old Tramm Road and Powell Street, where some one-story homes and duplexes were destroyed, a couple of which were leveled or swept clean from their foundations. However, it was noted that a large storage building was destroyed across the street from these residences, and pieces of heavy equipment were thrown into them. Damage surveyors determined that the extent of the destruction noted at the homes and duplexes was more due to heavy debris impacts, rather than extreme winds, and a rating of high-end EF2 was applied in this area as a result. It then crossed the Interstate 165 into more densely-populated areas of the city as an EF3 tornado. By this time, during live severe weather coverage on ABC/Fox affiliate WBKO; the station's tower camera was pointed toward the western sections of Bowling Green as the tornado approached. It captured a massive power failure in that part of the city as several transmission lines were knocked down by the tornado, before the station's studio facility (located along US 68/KY 80 and I-165) briefly lost electricity.


text: After crossing the interstate, the rapidly-intensifying tornado struck the Creekwood subdivision, where devastating damage occurred as numerous homes were completely destroyed. Some of the worst damage in the subdivision occurred along Moss Creek Avenue, where dozens of homes were leveled or swept from their foundations. Damage surveyors noted that these homes were built on poorly-constructed cinder block foundations, and damage in this area was rated high-end EF3. Dozens of cars were flipped, severely damaged, and thrown into homes, and wooden 2x4s were impaled into the ground and through vehicles. Many other homes along this segment of the path sustained major structural damage, sustaining loss of roofs and exterior walls, while large trees were snapped, twisted and denuded. Numerous fatalities occurred in the Creekwood subdivision, including an entire family of 7 that was killed in the destruction of their home. Just east of this area, the tornado crossed Spring Creek Avenue and weakened to high-end EF2 strength as it moved through another residential area. Many homes had their roofs torn off in this area, and some sustained collapse of exterior walls and were pushed off of their foundations. A two-story apartment building on Hillridge Court had its roof and many top floor exterior walls torn off, and numerous trees and power poles were snapped. Some townhouses were severely damaged near the Veterans Memorial Parkway, one of which was shifted off its foundation as well. High-end EF2 damage continued as it widened and crossed Russellville Road, damaging or destroying numerous businesses on both sides of the road. A plumbing supply company was destroyed, with the garage portion of the business blown in and collapsed. Some semi-trucks were flipped and severely damaged nearby, and a metal billboard was twisted and destroyed. A car rental business, a Marathon gas station, and some other buildings were also destroyed, while a Sonic Drive-In, Royal Motor Cars, two auto parts stores, a Shell gas station, and a Mexican restaurant were badly damaged. Trees and power poles were snapped, a dumpster was thrown , and metal light poles were bent to the ground. Multiple homes in the nearby Springhill and Crestmoor subdivisions had roofs and attached garages ripped off, and large trees were uprooted.


text: The tornado narrowed and weakened some as it moved through the Chuck Crume Nature Park, and into neighborhoods near Cedar Ridge Road as a low-end EF2. Damage to homes in this area was less severe, but numerous large hardwood trees were snapped and uprooted, some of which fell on houses and vehicles. A metal power pole was also toppled to the ground. It then clipped the south edge of the Western Kentucky University campus, where the buildings were not directly hit by tornadic winds, but debris was found speared into the exterior walls of a few structures. The tornado increased in intensity again as it moved along the U.S. 31W Bypass just south of downtown Bowling Green, heavily damaging or destroying several businesses at high-end EF2 to EF3 strength. An equipment rental business sustained some of the most intense damage in this area, sustaining roof loss and collapse of multiple brick exterior walls. A liquor store and a smoke shop were destroyed, while a boba tea lounge, a strip mall, and an automotive business were heavily damaged. A couple of two-story apartment buildings had severe roof damage, one of which was struck by debris from a nearby gas station. A truck was flipped onto its side, numerous power lines were downed, and many trees were snapped, uprooted, or denuded throughout this corridor as well. Weakening back to low-end EF2 intensity, it crossed Broadway Avenue as it moved through neighborhoods surrounding Magnolia Street. Large trees were snapped or uprooted in this area, houses had their roofs and porches torn off, and a butcher shop suffered significant roof and window damage.


text: The tornado then crossed Collett Avenue and weakened to high-end EF1 intensity, following Nutwood Street and Covington Street to the east-northeast before moving through the Briarwood Manor and Indian Hills subdivisions. Damage along this segment of the path consisted of mainly minor to moderate damage to homes, including shattered windows, garage doors blown in, gutters torn off, and roof shingles removed. However, a few houses sustained more severe damage, with half or more of their roofs blown off. Many trees and power lines were downed, cars and garden sheds were overturned, while fencing and detached garages were destroyed. The damage path turned more to the northeast as the tornado impacted the Indian Hills Country Club golf course, where trees were damaged, snapped, and uprooted. It then crossed the Barren River and regained low-end EF2 strength as it destroyed a brick silo and inflicted considerable roof damage to some houses and apartment buildings to the south of Old Porter Pike. EF2 damage continued to the northeast of this area at the GM Corvette Assembly Plant. Large rooftop HVAC units were torn off, and extensive roof damage occurred at the plant, with metal sheeting, insulation, and other debris scattered hundreds of yards. Chain link fencing on the property was destroyed, while light poles, power poles, and road signs were blown over as well. A small security checkpoint building at the facility was totally destroyed, with large pieces of the building being thrown several hundred yards. A gas station canopy, a Wendy's sign, and some storage garages were also damaged near the plant, and a fully loaded tractor-trailer was flipped onto its side and pushed about from where it originated into the front of a restaurant. Past the Corvette plant, the damage path turned in a more easterly direction again, and the tornado weakened back to EF1 intensity as it moved through the intersection of Bristow Road and Friendship Road. A barn and a greenhouse were destroyed within this vicinity, and power poles were downed. Houses in this area sustained mainly roof, gutter, and siding damage, though one home had a large section of its roof torn off. Shortly beyond this point, it turned sharply back to the northeast and caused additional EF1 damage as it moved across Kelly Road, where some trees were downed and an outbuilding was damaged.


text: The tornado then rapidly intensified again and reached peak intensity as it struck an industrial park near U.S. 68, damaging or destroying multiple large industrial buildings at high-end EF3 strength. The well-built TMS Automotive warehouse was leveled by the tornado, with large metal structural supports torn from their anchor plates. A metal flag pole near one business was bent to the ground, leveraging its heavy concrete footing out of the ground in the process, and some light poles were bent over as well. A box truck was also thrown and destroyed, part of which was found away. The tornado then weakened to EF2 strength, but continued to inflict heavy damage as it struck a Crown Verity plant; a cookware manufacturer, near the north side of U.S. 68. The building sustained major damage, with large amounts of metal debris strewn through nearby fields. EF1 damage was noted along Mizpah Road, where fencing and trees were downed, a flag pole was bent, and some additional industrial buildings had damage to their exteriors, with metal siding and insulation scattered across fields. A house had the top part of its brick chimney blown off in this area too. It caused one more area of EF2 damage as it approached U.S. 31W, completely destroying an outbuilding along Freeport Road and blowing the debris downwind. A house and another outbuilding sustained less severe damage nearby, and some trees were snapped. The tornado then weakened to EF1 intensity and crossed Oakland Road, moving through the small community of Tuckertown, where houses sustained roof damage, an outbuilding collapsed, some other outbuildings and silos were damaged, and trees were downed. It followed U.S. 31W to the northeast, causing more EF1 damage to trees, barns, and the roofs of homes. EF1 damage continued into Edmonson County, where trees were downed near the Dripping Springs community. The tornado then lifted and dissipated at 1:38 a.m. CST (07:38 UTC) near Cedar Springs, after causing one final area of EF1-strength tree damage along KY 259. The path length of the tornado was . In total, 16 people were killed and 63 people were injured by this tornado.


text: As the EF3 tornado moved through areas just south of downtown Bowling Green, a second tornado formed as a result of a separate, smaller circulation within the same parent supercell. It first touched in the southeastern part of Bowling Green at 1:19 a.m. CST (07:19 UTC), near the Bowling Green–Warren County Regional Airport. It first damaged a small metal storage building along Searcy Way, then caused significant roof damage to a well-built airplane hangar as it moved across the airport grounds. Damage along this initial part of the path was rated EF1. An anemometer at the airport recorded an wind gust as the tornado passed by, though it was not directly hit by the tornado. The tornado continued at high-end EF1 strength as it moved to the northeast, parallel to Interstate 65. It grew to wide, striking apartments and townhouses at The Hub apartments. These structures sustained extensive roof and window damage, with garages at the complex suffering the most intense damage. Trees were also downed in this area. Additional damage to trees and roofs occurred in a neighborhood just north of Lovers Lane Park. The tornado became strong as it crossed Mount Victor Lane, where a house was heavily damaged and shifted off of its foundation, and damage to that residence was rated low-end EF2. It weakened again as it crossed the Barren River just east of the path of the main EF3 tornado, which followed moments later. Homes and apartment buildings along McFadin Station Street suffered considerable roof and siding damage, and trees and power lines were downed, with damage in this area being rated EF1. Just beyond this point, extensive tree damage occurred and a barn was destroyed near Porter Pike. The tornado then reached peak strength, producing EF2 damage as it struck NCM Motorsports Park on the south side of the interstate.


text: The main building, a series of automobile repair garages, and some metal storage buildings sustained extensive damage at this location, with large sections of roofing and exterior walls ripped off of the structures. Structural debris was scattered over a half-mile to the east-northeast, and several cars were moved and damaged by flying debris. At this point the tornado was roughly wide, and the damage track of the main EF3 tornado near the Corvette plant was visible just across the interstate. The tornado weakened as it paralleled the interstate, causing EF1 damage along McGinnis Road and Bristow Road. An unanchored mobile home was destroyed, numerous trees were downed, and siding, gutter, and roofing damage was observed at several homes along this segment of the path. Just beyond this point, the tornado caused some additional EF0 tree damage before it dissipated near mile marker 29.2 along I-65 at 1:24 a.m. CST (07:24 UTC), southeast of Plum Springs, after traveling .


text: The initial winter storm, unofficially referred to by The Weather Channel (TWC) as "Winter Storm Atticus", entered the Western United States on December 9. The storm brought the first measurable snowfall of the rainy season to Utah. In southern Wyoming and Colorado, the storm dropped a maximum total of of snow in the mountains. On December 10, Las Vegas dipped to for the first time since February 5, 2020.


text: In Minnesota, some towns and cities received over of snow. The Twin Cities received a maximum total of of snow, making the winter storm the heaviest snowstorm recorded in the area since another blizzard in April 2018. Minneapolis and St. Paul each declared snow emergencies. In the Twin Cities, Metro Transit reported that half of its busses were delayed. More than 250 flights were canceled at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. Near Faribault, a seven-car pileup occurred on Interstate 35. Minnesota State Patrol reported 232 crashes, causing 19 injuries. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for part of Minnesota during the December 10.


text: In South Dakota, Sioux Falls issued a snow alert. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office issued a no-travel alert. Several highways, including Interstate 229 and Interstate 90 were snow-covered. Numerous school districts around the area cancelled classes on December 10.


text: The storm system brought wind gusts up to to Lower Michigan and northern Indiana. Nearly 200,000 customers were left without power in Michigan as the storm passed through, while more than 7,000 customers lost power in Wisconsin.


text: In Canada, winds gusting to 62 mph (100 km/h) uprooted trees and caused property damage and multiple power outages across Southern Ontario and the St. Lawrence River Valley. More than 300,000 customers in Ontario and Québec lost power.


text: New York saw over 100,000 power outages, including 41,000 in Erie County. Wind gusts in Western New York reached and in the New York metropolitan area reached . Waves reached along the Lake Erie coastline, forcing multiple parks to close. On December 11, both New York City and Buffalo saw record highs, at . Newark, New Jersey also set a record high of , at the unusual time of 7:30 pm as well.


text: Nine states were affected by the outbreak with five states being heavily impacted; homes and businesses incurring severe damage in many communities along the path of each of the storms, many of which collapsed and were reduced to rubble. The tornadoes resulted in 88 fatalities, 75 of which occurred in Kentucky, and hundreds of injuries.


text: As of December 13, three days after the outbreak took place, 26,000 buildings were without power, while 10,000 were without water and an additional 17,000 were placed under boil-water advisories in Kentucky. Also in Kentucky, estimates indicated between 60,000 and over 80,000 people were without power across the state. In Trigg County, over 14,000 residents were left without power. In Taylor County, one woman was killed. Officials in the county said major damage occurred, but the extent is not known. Rescue workers said many structures were destroyed in the county. Injured individuals were transported to a nearby medical facility. Western Kentucky University canceled commencement ceremonies scheduled for December 11, due to the EF3 tornado that hit Bowling Green the previous night and caused citywide power outages affecting the campus. In Bremen, a video of a man surreptitiously recorded playing Bill Gaither's "Jesus, There's Something About That Name" on a piano in his destroyed house was shared by many people. Jason Crabb, who was from nearby Beaver Dam, invited the man, Jordan Baize, to play the song on the Grand Ole Opry on December 17.


text: In Bowling Green, one indirect storm-related fatality occurred, involving a man who died from a heart attack while helping clean up debris at his daughter's house; in Franklin County, a man was killed when his truck was swept into floodwaters along Benson Creek.


text: Local National Weather Service operations were impacted during the outbreak, forcing two offices to briefly suspend operations. The power outages caused by the storms resulted in the National Weather Service's Paducah office temporarily transferring warning responsibilities for its County Warning Area to the agency's Springfield, Missouri office, and NOAA Weather Radio stations operated by the Paducah office temporarily went off-the-air in parts of the state during the outbreak. Employees at the National Weather Service's St. Louis office, located in Weldon Spring, were forced to take shelter and temporarily suspend operations as an EF3 tornado passed just south of the facility around 7:45 p.m. CST on December 10.


text: In Arkansas, a semi-trailer truck overturned on the northbound lane of Interstate 555 in Poinsett County (southwest of Trumann), due to straight-line winds associated with the supercell; natural gas that was being carried inside the truck leaked onto the highway, resulting in the closure of both lanes of the highway for most of the evening.


text: In Indiana, damage was mostly limited to power outages from the storms and trees falling into houses and onto vehicles, with only one person being hospitalized. At least 17,000 Duke Energy customers, 12,500 AES Indiana customers, 12,500 Indiana Michigan Power Co. customers, and 1,300 South Central Indiana REMC customers lost power due to the storms.


text: In Tennessee, more than 130,000 people were left without power in the state as a result of the storms. TVA infrastructure was damaged in West Tennessee, resulting in power loss for all of Decatur and southern Henderson counties. Power remained out in Decatur County into the next week, resulting in the county school system being closed the whole week. A tree fell on a home in Shelby, resulting in a non-tornadic fatality.


text: On December 14, nine Tennessee counties were granted federal emergency assistance due to the damage from the storms: Lake, Obion, Dyer, Gibson, and Weakley counties in West Tennessee; and Cheatham, Dickson, and Stewart counties in Middle Tennessee, all of which had been heavily impacted by tornadoes, along with Decatur County, which had sustained county-wide power failure.


text: Recovery efforts are currently underway, as disaster-aid and humanitarian groups, such as the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Adventist Community Services, and World Vision are collecting donations and traveling to or shipping relief items to affected areas to provide aid. At least 1,000 families were left homeless or had their properties severely damaged. Kentucky state parks provided free housing to those who could not go back to their homes. Up to 450 National Guard members were activated to help out with recovery in Kentucky. Several firefighters in the Crescent Township, Pennsylvania volunteer fire department are planning to travel to Mayfield on December 21 to help with cleanup, bringing donated supplies.


text: Multiple workers at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory that was destroyed when the long-track EF4 tornado hit Mayfield, Kentucky, alleged that supervisors told them they would be fired if they left their shifts early ahead of the storm's direct hit on the city. Company spokespeople have denied the allegations. On December 17, it was reported that multiple workers (only one was named due to fear of reprisal) filed a class-action lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit alleged that the company had up to three and a half hours to allow employees to leave before the tornado hit the factory and showed a flagrant indifference to the rights of the workers. It was later brought to light that the factory had committed 12 OSHA safety violations in 2019, for which they were forced to pay a fine of $9,810 (2019 USD); specific violations included one stating that safeguards during emergency situations must be working properly at all times, one stating that there had to be people who could perform first aid and one stating that first aid supplies need to be available. The Kentucky OSHA board is currently investigating the factory.


text: On December 11, Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos issued a statement about the impact to the company's Edwardsville, Illinois, warehouse on Twitter: "The news from Edwardsville is tragic. We're heartbroken over the loss of our teammates there, and our thoughts and prayers are with their families and loved ones. All of Edwardsville should know that the Amazon team is committed to supporting them and will be by their side through this crisis. We extend our fullest gratitude to all the incredible first responders who have worked so tirelessly at the site." Bezos was criticized on social media for issuing his response to the tragedy approximately 23 hours after the tornado destroyed the warehouse, and for attending the scheduled third launch of the New Shepard 4 suborbital vehicle that morning despite the tragedy. OSHA is currently investigating the deaths at the warehouse; the warehouse has no prior violations on record.


text: An Amazon driver stationed at the Edwardsville base delivering packages was told she would be fired by her supervisor if she went back to the Edwardsville base upon tornado sirens going off. She had previously mentioned tornado warnings had been issued 32 minutes prior. The supervisor waited for Amazon to contact them to say what to do; at that point, she was told to shelter in place. An Amazon spokesperson later stated the supervisor did not follow standard safety protocols, specifically stating that the supervisor should have told the driver to return upon hearing tornado sirens and that they should not have threatened the driver's employment.


text: An Amazon employee from near Campbellsville, Kentucky, went viral on Twitter after being turned around by police and being unable to reach the warehouse for her shift due to search and rescue efforts and damage from an EF3 tornado in Taylor County. When she attempted to notify Amazon's Human Resources department about the issue she was told they had no record of tornadoes in Kentucky and penalized her. It was not until she tweeted in response to Amazon's Retail Chief Dave Clark about the issue later in the day that the issue was resolved.


text: On December 11, U.S. President Joe Biden approved a federal emergency disaster declaration for the state of Kentucky. On December 12, he approved a major disaster declaration for Kentucky. Biden also stated that he would approve emergency declarations for other states if they submitted them, which ultimately were submitted by Tennessee and Illinois on December 13. Biden also stated that he would visit the areas affected by the storm after it was certain he was "not going to get in the way of the rescue and recovery". The White House later announced that Biden would travel to Fort Campbell on December 15, where he would be briefed on the storms, and then visit the affected communities of Mayfield and Dawson Springs. While in Dawson Springs, he stated that the damage was "beyond belief". Biden also announced that the federal disaster coverage would be upped to cover 100% (from 75%) of costs for debris removal and emergency protective measures over the next 30 days in Kentucky.


text: Missouri Governor Mike Parson visited both St. Charles and Pemiscot counties in the aftermath of the EF3 tornado that cut through those areas. Earlier on December 11, Governor Beshear declared a state of emergency for parts of western Kentucky. Beshear also announced the creation of a tornado relief fund and asked people to donate blood, as donated blood was running low throughout the pandemic. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell visited areas of Bowling Green, stating that he had not seen worse damage since the 1974 Louisville tornado.


title: Out of Time (2003 film)

text: Out of Time is a 2003 American mystery thriller film directed by Carl Franklin and starring Denzel Washington. The two had previously worked together for the 1995 film "Devil in a Blue Dress".


title: Out of Time (2003 film)

text: Matthias "Matt" Lee Whitlock is the respected Chief of Police of the small Florida Keys town of Banyan Key. Recently separated, Whitlock is currently seeing local resident Ann Merai-Harrison, an old flame from high school whose husband Chris, a former professional quarterback seemingly oblivious to the relationship, abuses her. While taking Ann to the doctor, Matt finds out she has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Matt is also going through a divorce from his wife, homicide detective Alex, and confides in his friend, medical examiner Chae.


title: Out of Time (2003 film)

text: Ann intends to reward Matt's loyalty to her by making him the sole beneficiary of her $1,000,000 life insurance policy. Matt suggests that she should travel to Switzerland to undergo a newly developed, groundbreaking treatment. The problem is that Ann does not have any money. Desperate to help her, Matt takes $485,000 out of evidence and gives it to her so she can make the trip. When the money goes up in flames in a suspicious house fire that kills Ann and Chris, Matt is horrified to find their charred remains.


title: Out of Time (2003 film)

text: Upon investigation, Matt discovers that the doctor that diagnosed Ann was an imposter, Ann didn't have cancer, and he has been set up.


title: Out of Time (2003 film)

text: When the Drug Enforcement Administration agents call the next day to get the evidence money in order to bust a higher drug lord, Matt responds erratically. He finds out that the money is now with the imposter doctor and that Alex is about to bust him. He rushes to the hotel and after a brief struggle, he accidentally kills the imposter, takes the money and flees. Although Matt is seen by the police, he is thought to have come to protect Alex.


title: Out of Time (2003 film)

text: Later that evening, Alex finds that Matt is Ann's sole beneficiary and also that he has been in a relationship with her. At the same time, Matt receives a distress call from Ann, who is still alive, and unofficially goes to save her. Chris and Matt fight, Ann shoots and kills Chris. Then Ann reveals that she had planned all of this for money and fortune, and shoots Matt in the leg.


title: Out of Time (2003 film)

text: When Ann is about to kill Matt, Alex kills her; Alex traced Matt using a GPS tracker and asks him whether he planned to elope with the money but Matt reveals that he has not brought the money with him. When the irritated DEA agents come to arrest Matt as he had promised to deliver the money earlier that day, he says that his man was sent to Miami, and simultaneously Chae appears with the money, explaining about a wrong address and that he could not find the DEA office. So the DEA agents leave with the money and Matt has no charges on him.


title: Out of Time (2003 film)

text: Later, when Matt is on medical leave, Chae visits him with news that Matt is the recipient of Ann's insurance policy. But Alex says that, "as his wife," she knows that Matt has to reject it, meaning that she has decided to drop the divorce and move back in with Matt. Overjoyed, Matt seemingly forgets about the life insurance money, though Chae is amusingly adamant that Matt must take it.


title: Out of Time (2003 film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 64% based on 150 reviews, with an average rating of 6.30 out of 10. The critical consensus states the film is a "fun and stylish thriller if you can get past the contrivances." On Metacritic it has a score of 63% based on reviews from 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".


title: Out of Time (2003 film)

text: WAP and Java mobile phone games based upon this movie were released in the UK in association with O2 and Momentum Pictures by Kalador Entertainment Inc.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: Fetch the Bolt Cutters is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Fiona Apple. It was released on April 17, 2020, Apple's first release since "The Idler Wheel..." in 2012. The album was recorded from 2015 to 2020, largely at Apple's home in Venice Beach. It was produced and performed by Apple alongside Amy Aileen Wood, Sebastian Steinberg and Davíd Garza; recording consisted of long, often improvised takes with unconventional percussive sounds. GarageBand was used for much of this recording, and Fiona Apple credited the album's unedited vocals and long takes to her lack of expertise with the program.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: Rooted in experimentation, the album largely features unconventional percussion. While conventional instruments, such as pianos and drum sets, do appear, the album also features prominent use of non-musical found objects as percussion. Apple described the result as "percussion orchestras". These industrial-like rhythms are contrasted against traditional melodies, and the upbeat songs often subvert traditional pop structures.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: The album explores freedom from oppression; Apple identified its core message as: "Fetch the fucking bolt cutters and get yourself out of the situation you're in". The title, a quote from TV series "The Fall", reflects this idea. The album also discusses Apple's complex relationships with other women and other personal experiences, including bullying and sexual assault. It has nevertheless been referred to as Apple's most humorous album.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" was released during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many critics found its exploration of confinement timely. It received widespread and significant critical acclaim, and was described as an instant classic, revolutionary, and Apple's best work to date. The album was awarded Best Alternative Music Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, with "Shameika" winning Best Rock Performance. The album debuted at number four on the US "Billboard" 200 and number one on the US Top Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums, with 44,000 equivalent album units. It also charted in the top 15 in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: In 2012, after releasing "The Idler Wheel...", Apple began conceptualizing a new album, considering a concept album based on her home in Venice Beach or the Pando in Utah.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: In February 2015, she began rehearsals for the album with band members Sebastian Steinberg, Amy Aileen Wood and Davíd Garza. They began writing and rehearsing in Apple's Venice Beach home studio, using home-made percussive objects and chanting as they marched around the house.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: In July, they began recording the album, spending three weeks at the Sonic Ranch studio in rural Texas, where they recorded most of "Relay", "Ladies", "Cosmonauts" and "On I Go". Apple recalled that these sessions were often unproductive, with the band being distracted by magic mushrooms and films. They returned to Los Angeles, working on the material at Stanley Recordings. Apple decided that recording should relocate to her Venice Beach home studio, where they soon returned. She likened her house to "the womb of where I've developed into an adult", so she chose to record the album at home to "repay" the house. She elaborated on the house's presence in the album: "I really felt like it's an instrument in itself, it's the microphone: The house is the microphone, the house is the ambiance, the house is a member of the band". Further sessions for "Newspaper" and "Heavy Balloon" took place at engineer Dave Way's private studio, Waystation.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: They recorded long takes consisting of instruments being hit against surfaces and objects; her vocals were unedited, and the album developed a highly percussive sound. The sessions at Apple's home were largely recorded with GarageBand. On the long, unedited takes, Apple commented: "I didn't even know how to edit it and make a take shorter, so each track is just this one long take, and if I made a mistake in it, well, I better just play over it and let that mistake work itself into it". This resulted in what Apple described as "percussion orchestras", especially on "Newspaper" and the title track.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: By July 2019, Apple had begun mixing the album. In September, the process began to slow down, with Apple developing doubts about the album. At this time, the artist first mentioned work on her new project in an interview with "Vulture", explaining that she was still working hard on her next album which should have been released "a million years ago" and was hoping to put it out in 2020. She also admitted to being reclusive due to ongoing recording sessions at her Venice Beach house.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: In January 2020, she played the mixes to her band members, whose positive responses brought Apple back on track. In an interview that month, she said that the album process was in its final stages, with the only things left being "artwork and stuff". In March, she announced that she had finished recording.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: "Fetch the Bolt Cutters" sound is defined by percussion. The piano-playing typical to Apple's work is still evident, but takes a more percussive form. As well as drum sets and traditional percussion, the album features the use of found objects as percussion, such as a metal butterfly and the bones of Apple's deceased dog Janet. The experimental rhythms on the album evoke industrial music and are juxtaposed against more traditional melodies. "Stereogum"s Tom Breihan argues that while percussive music is typically "built around the idea of dancing, of guiding and channeling the rhythms of the human body", the album instead "plays as a wild, feverish attempt to mirror the chaos that goes on in the human mind when it's at its most overheated". Apple has attributed the album's prominent use of percussion to a childhood habit, developed as a part of her obsessive-compulsive disorder, in which she would always walk rhythmically to a strict tempo.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: The album has been described as an art pop record, and "the most sophisticated possible version" of bedroom pop. It has been noted for its experimental approach to pop music. Critics have noted its ambition and originality. Nevertheless, it has been compared to the works of Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Nina Simone, and Kate Bush, who is quoted on the title track.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: The album often rejects popular music's traditional verse-chorus structure. The unpredictable songs feature looped sections, sudden stops and tempo changes. It has been noted as less melancholy than Apple's past work, with the uptempo songs being described as "funny, angry, and at times triumphant". The album features frequent improvisation, as well as background noise such as the barking of dogs, largely as a result of its home recording.


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: On the album, Apple approached her voice as a musical instrument, commenting: "I have fun with my voice, but I'm not trying to make it pretty all the time. I'm not trying to convince anybody I'm a singer. It just turned out to be another instrument". Breihan noted that Apple demonstrates "a rapper's sense that words can be music", while "The Guardian"s Laura Barton highlighted the intimacy of Apple's vocals: "half-conversational, half-self-mutters, allowing every scuff, breath and feral yelp". Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" found that "whether she's cooing with sarcastic solicitousness or rasping close to a scream, she articulates every word clearly, emoting but never losing control".


title: Fetch the Bolt Cutters

text: Lyrically, Apple identified the album's main theme as "not being afraid to speak", with Barton similarly recognizing "a refusal to be silenced". Apple later said that this was an oversimplification, elaborating that "it's about breaking out of whatever prison you've allowed yourself to live in", and pinpointing the message as: "Fetch the fucking bolt cutters and get yourself out of the situation you're in". She has said that writing the album helped free her of the ideas she had of herself, explaining that "this whole album, for me, has turned into the headache that I had inside of my head and now that it's released, it's like this pulse that now we can all share". Pareles found that the album explored "both past and present injuries: bullying, sexual assault, destructive mind games, romantic debacles, [Apple's] own fears and compulsions and the people who have taken advantage of them". The album explores freedom, with Breihan writing that "we can hear the euphoria of a great unburdening". The album has also been identified as Apple's most humorous album.