When a tornado is bearing down on you, the LAST place you want to be is outside.
And realistically, the chances of being hit like that are really pretty slim. A direct hit to take out the entire building is not likely. Neither was a funnel that size.
Hind sight is 20/20.
Just out of curiosity (I don't live in an area likely to ever see a tornado), but I was once in Dallas, headed to Fort Worth (?) The sky was low, green and clouds were moving in multiple directions. I knew nature's shenanigans were afoot, so I turned on the radio and was told tornadoes were in the area and that I should "seek selter". There weren't a lot of structures, and at that time of day, none were open, so I parked under an overpass (which I was really lucky to find!).
What would an informed, reasonable person choose to do in that situation?
I’m not from Mayfield, but, I’m close enough that I was monitoring this storm ever since the 1st warning in Arkansas. This thing was BIG almost the whole way, and it was on the ground a long time before it even crossed over into KY. Lightning illuminated pics of the funnel were posted on TV before any warning for Mayfield even went out. The path (as with many big tornados) was almost a straight line, and even as fast as it was going, the TV mets were showing Mayfield dead center in the storm’s sights maybe 20 minutes out. About then I started asking my wife and daughter to text good friends we have in Mayfield, that this storm was very likely to hit the town. I’m no “expert”, but I’ve been watching tornados, one way or another, ever since one took out my family’s house when I was 10 y/o, and 10-15 minutes out, there was little doubt this storm would hit Mayfield, hard. The continuous radar signature(s) alone were jaw dropping, and... telling.
Yes, in a general sense, this is a rare event - almost unprecedented* if the ground track turns out to be continuous from Arkansas to well east of Land Between The Lakes. But, 15 minutes out, the odds this thing would take out a good portion of Mayfield were nearing certainty. And the warnings WERE sent out in time.
*I’m sure you are well versed on the 1925 “Tri-State tornado” — also in this area! — which would likely be the best candidate as a precedent or even a bit greater in terms of the storm’s behavior.
Outside in a ditch would have been better than in a collapsing building. (Check how most of the deaths in that Tri-State Tornado occurred.) However, I think it will turn out the real issue may be lack of adequate shelter in the factory. Watching drone vids and such, I see no evidence of such in the wreckage. In this part of the country, that’s damn near criminal, esp. if employees are going to be told they can’t leave in advance of threatening weather.
(A news story on right now is saying a church in Lone Oak (South Paducah, basically) was contacted (by Paducah police?) about being a shelter just before the tornado hit Mayfield. SOMEBODY was on the ball.)
One last thought: Everyone in the candle factory has been accounted for, and the final death toll there is 8. The media and the Governor are guilty of major hype / misinformation about the likely toll. I wonder if some employees fled and were initially afraid to say so?