Wording not preserved
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@WKUweather on X (verbatim raw t.co)WKU
Overnight 'TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY' warning as a deadly tornado passes near campus
AI-generated · every claim is source-linkedIn the early morning hours of December 11, 2021, a deadly tornado swept through Bowling Green near the WKU campus as part of the Quad-State Tornado outbreak. Campus weather service White Squirrel Weather issued a "TORNADO WARNING TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY" alert around 1 a.m. CST, and WKU's emergency team activated its Emergency Operations Center within the hour.
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- Killed
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- Injured
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2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim
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Verified verbatim46 chars
TORNADO WARNING TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY! #WKU
The all-caps, six-word imperative is preserved verbatim from WKU Herald's quote of the student-run White Squirrel Weather alert at roughly 1 a.m. CST.
This is an update rather than an all-clear because it escalates the prior warning to an immediate shelter directive as the tornado approached Bowling Green.
Context
Background
The December 10-11, 2021 outbreak produced the long-track Quad-State Tornado that killed dozens across Kentucky, including in nearby Mayfield. In Bowling Green, the WKU Herald reported that student-run White Squirrel Weather tracked the storm overnight, issuing a tornado warning at 12:53 a.m. CST and a stark "TORNADO WARNING TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY" alert around 1 a.m. CST. A tornado devastated subdivisions off Russellville Road and damaged areas along Nashville Road and the 31W Bypass near campus. WKU's main campus was largely spared, and the university activated its Emergency Operations Center to coordinate relief. The episode highlights the role a campus weather operation can play as a frontline alerting source during an overnight tornado emergency.
Outcome
A tornado devastated subdivisions off Russellville Road and caused extensive damage near campus along Nashville Road and the 31W Bypass. The WKU campus itself was largely spared, but the surrounding Bowling Green community suffered fatalities and major destruction.
Provenance
Sources
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Cite this case
Campus Alert Archive. "Western Kentucky University: Overnight 'TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY' warning as a deadly tornado passes near campus." Incident of December 11, 2021. Added May 2026; last updated July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/western-kentucky-university-quad-state-tornado-2021-12-11/
Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.
Tags
severe-weathertornadoquad-state-tornadoemergency-notificationkentuckybowling-green
Added May 2026Updated July 2026Via ingestion