An unusually warm December night portended nothing unusual. There was a reported chance of storms moving into southcentral Kentucky on that Friday night, Dec. 10, 2021. With a vigorous cold front coming in overnight, there were warnings that severe weather could follow.

But tornadoes? In December?

But the early morning hours saw deadly tornadoes touch down across much of the southeast U.S., including several in Tennessee.

Southcentral Kentucky was squarely in the path of the storms.

Around 1 a.m., the system entered Warren County, destroying structures and uprooting trees as it streaked northeast.

About 20 minutes later, four separate tornadoes ripped through Bowling Green. Winds topped 150 mph, uprooting massive trees and reducing structures to splinters and rubble.

“It looked like a war zone,” said one resident in a common refrain in the following weeks.

The property toll was staggering, and still being calculated, with hundreds of building destroyed or damaged.

Even worse was the human toll.

In the hours after the tornadoes, the death count was reported as at least 11, but the search for more survivors and victims was ongoing.

Eventually, the final death toll was determined to be 17, with one death attributed to a heart attack by an individual cleaning debris.

BG Strong became the rallying cry for the recovery efforts as countless volunteers and millions of dollars of aid – from cash to goods – flowed into the area.

Gov. Andy Beshear and First Lady Jill Biden toured the devastated areas as the slow rebuilding process began.

Even as the community continues that rebuilding effort today, the Daily News presents this special section on the anniversary of the unprecedented events one year ago.