WKU Liquors on the U.S. 31-W Bypass, November 17, 2022. (Grace Ramey/photo@bgdailynews.com)

In the early hours of Dec. 11, 2021, Bowling Green residents awoke suddenly to the sounds of sirens and phone alerts as four separate tornadoes with winds topping 150 mph began tearing through Bowling Green, uprooting massive trees and reducing structures to splinters and rubble. 

Throughout the following days, first responders searched for survivors and began clearing debris. The lives of 17 Bowling Green residents were lost to the storm system, with one death attributed to a heart attack by an individual cleaning debris.

In the year that has followed, Bowling Green has worked to recover, receiving help from countless volunteers and millions of dollars of financial and physical aid. These photos show just a few scenes of recovery throughout the city. 

Creekwood Subdivision

Hillridge Court

Briarwood Neighborhood

31-W Bypass