Over 400,000 Kentucky residents were without power Saturday morning following severe weather that moved through the region on Friday. Emergency services and firefighters have been working to respond to downed power lines, structure fires, overturned semi-trucks, and falling trees and debris.
Gov. Andy Beshear also said Saturday that four storm-related deaths have been confirmed in Kentucky.
Gov. Beshear declared a state of emergency in Kentucky Friday due to the severe weather and raised the possibility that tornadoes had touched down in McCracken and Christian County. Structural damage but no injuries were reported.
Christian County Judge Executive Jerry Gilliam said there were reports of a possible tornado along Bell Station Road in the Pembroke area.
“Radar indicated a possible tornado and some pictures were sent in that appeared to look like a funnel cloud, but we’ve not had any confirmation from weather experts yet,” Gilliam said. “The damage seems to be widespread, and not concentrated, but it’s just an indication it’s more straight-line winds.”
In Warren County, government offices, businesses, public school districts, and Western Kentucky University were all closed due to caution in the weather.
Wind gusts up to 70 mph caused a structure fire on Sherwood Dr. due to a downed electrical line and injuries were reported as a result of structural damage at Bowling Green Towers Apartments. Multiple reports of structural damage due to wind gusts and flying debris were reported.
The SOKY marketplace pavilion was damaged by roofing debris from a neighboring church and heavy winds pushed down a sign at White Castle restaurant on Scottsville Road flattening the vehicle it fell on. No one was inside the car.
Road crews were called to upright an overturned semi-truck on Interstate 65. The semi was overturned by high winds but there were no injuries. In Christian County, four semi-trucks were overturned on I-24 and I-69.
Source:wkyufm.org
Categories: Kentucky, Weather