Ahead of severe weather, Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency.
The first round of thunderstorms is expected to come in Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. Hal Klingenberg is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Jackson. He said the line of storms developing is expected to weaken as it travels east overnight.
“The greatest risk is further west in the state, that’s where they’re going to see there’s more confidence in just repeated round after round of thunderstorms with heavy rainfall especially with this initial round of severe weather,” said Klingenberg.
A flood watch is in place for much of eastern Kentucky as three to six inches of rain is expected. Forecasters said this could lead to flash flooding and eventual river flooding. Klingenberg said the final round of thunderstorms will hit the area Saturday night into Sunday. The severe weather this week poses a threat but is not atypical for the season.
“April, May, early June is the most active time of the year for severe weather in this part of the country. We don’t always have it that close back to back but I would not say it’s unusual, this is our most active time of year for severe weather,” said Klingenberg.
Experts advise people to stay connected with warnings and alerts through weather radio or their phone and to have a plan for action in the event of an emergency.