Severe storms spur tornado warnings and wind damage across Kentucky. Heavy rainfall is on the way.
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
A line of severe storms that moved Wednesday evening through Kentucky spurred a number of tornado warnings across the state and injured several people and destroyed a church in West Kentucky.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear had declared a state of emergency ahead of the storms, which weather forecasters had anticipated could spark long-track tornadoes and high winds. Forecasters had designated West Kentucky as having the highest risk for severe weather, and first responders from the region on social media reported injuries and property damage from the storms.
Ballard County Emergency Management in a Facebook post said four were injured and homes and structures were damaged from “what appears to have been a tornado” in the unincorporated community of Gage. The four injured people tried to take shelter in their car under the carport of a church, and the church itself took “a direct from debris.” Ballard County Emergency Management stated the four individuals were taken to a local hospital, one of them in critical condition.
A church in the community of West Paducah also appeared to have suffered severe structural damage from the storms. Christ Community Church of West Paducah posted photos on Facebook of much of their church building in rubble.
Much of the state is under a flood watch or under a flood warning with multiple rounds of heavy rainfall expected through the weekend. The National Weather Service n Paducah states the “dangerous and potentially historic rainfall” could lead to “potentially catastrophic flash flooding.” As of Thursday morning, forecasters anticipated the cities of Murray and Hopkinsville could potentially see upwards of a foot of rainfall over the next few days.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: [email protected]. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter. Kentucky Lantern stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Donate to Kentucky Lantern here.
