Tornado practically rips Kentucky barn in half with man, several animals inside

    BULLITT COUNTY, Kentucky (WLKY) -- A barn in Bullitt County was practically ripped in half by Sunday night's intense storms.

It was confirmed Monday afternoon that at least an EF1 tornado hit Lebanon Junction, just south of Shepherdsville.

WLKY's Addie Meiners caught up with someone who lives at a barn there on Beech Grove Road. Luckily, he wasn't hurt.

"I mean, it's, I guess all you can do is feel grateful... it's a loss, but I just kinda feel grateful," Justin Parsley said.

There were also eight horses in the barn at the time, as well as his dog, Radar.

"My first thought is, 'We got to check on the animals.' ... Once I found the animals were OK, It was just kind of overwhelming. It's just hard to believe it happened," Parsley said.

Wind speedsSeveral tornado warnings issued during Sunday night's powerful storms He said the storm sounded like a freight train.

"It felt like it lasted 3 or 4 minutes, but in reality probably 30 seconds," Parsley said.

The tornado that ripped through that area had wind speeds estimated to be more than 100 mph.

Trees along Beech Grove were snapped in half.

"There's parts of the [barn] probably a mile away, you can tell because of the color of the metal and the insulation that's on it," said Parsley. "It's crazy, just crazy."

Parsley says he and his step brother, who owns the property and lives in another home on it, stored their trucks and horse trailers inside the barn earlier Sunday night. They were trying to avoid damage from the storm's forecasted hail.

Parsley believes they should be able to salvage the trucks.

The part of the barn that sustained the most damage was used for storage. Parsley said it was built a little over 10 years ago.