Severe weather ravages Louisville, other parts of Kentucky. What to know and what's next
Killian Baarlaer- Several tornadoes were reported throughout Kentucky on Wednesday, including in Louisville and west Kentucky.
- Gov. Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency, but no fatalities have been reported.
Meteorologists are continuing to monitor conditions Friday after tornadoes and rainfall hammered Louisville and other parts of Kentucky Wednesday night, damaging buildings, knocking out power and setting the stage for several more days of rain in areas around the commonwealth.
Survey crews from various emergency management agencies began working to survey reported tornadoes across the commonwealth Thursday, including in Louisville and west Kentucky, as rain continues throughout the region, raising the likelihood of significant widespread flooding. Meteorologists from the National Weather Service offices in Louisville and Paducah are tracking a cold front that has stalled over the region and have warned more severe storms could be possible in the coming days.
Here's what to know about the recent bout of severe weather and what could be in store for Kentucky.
Tornado rips through Jeffersontown and Middletown
In a post on social media, the National Weather Service in Louisville confirmed a radar-indicated tornado touched down near the Interstate 64-Interstate 264 exchange at the Jeffersontown-Middletown border in Jefferson County early Thursday morning.
Half a dozen businesses on one Jeffersontown block suffered damage, knocking in garage doors, tearing metal roofs and leaving insulation strewn in nearby trees and parking lots, The Courier Journal reported.
In a detour from typical procedure, the Louisville Emergency Management began surveying the area Thursday. The National Weather Service would usually lead survey efforts, but recent cuts to the federal agency and the urgency of the sustained weather event are causing the agency to hold off on surveys until conditions improve.
Louisville under flood watch for days to come
Louisville is under a flood watch until 8 a.m. Sunday as forecasters expect more rain to give rise to potentially life-threatening floods.
Forecasters warn residents that heavy rainfall could create flash flood risks and that river flooding will could become a hazard as water drains into streams and rivers.
All of central and west Kentucky are impacted by the flood watch.
NWS believes multiple tornadoes touched down in west Kentucky
While reports are still preliminary, west Kentucky appears to be among the hardest hit areas in the commonwealth.
Justin Gibbs, a meteorologist at NWS Paducah, said the agency believes three tornadoes touched down in west Kentucky Wednesday night, impacting Ballard, Calloway, McCracken and Hopkins counties.
Several buildings in the area suffered roof damage, Gibbs said, including the roof of one church in view from the Paducah office that was "pretty well removed.”
McCracken County's Barkley Regional Airport also sustained some damage.
The timeline for surveying damage, confirming tornadoes and mapping their paths depends on the intensity of the forecast over the next several days, Gibbs said.
No fatalities reported
During a news conference Thursday, Gov. Andy Beshear said no weather-related fatalities have been reported in Kentucky so far, but several residents sustained injuries during Wednesday’s storms.
One family in Ballard County was injured when the storm destroyed their home and a 8-year-old boy remains in critical condition.
Beshear urged residents to stay aware of developments in the weather in the coming days and to be cautious of flooded roadways, especially in the wake of the flooding in February that resulted in 24 deaths across Kentucky.
"We're thankful that everyone is safe, but the next thing we have to do is to make sure we stay safe," Beshear said. "The February flooding ... showed us that especially when we have this much rain, it's the decisions about when to get out, about what to drive through, when to go stay with someone else that can be the difference between life and death."
Beshear declared a state of emergency before the severe weather started Wednesday.
Dangerous forecast still in store
Much of Kentucky remains at risk for excessive rainfall Friday and Saturday, according to the latest forecast.
West and central Kentucky have the highest potentials for heavy rainfall. Parts of far-west Kentucky are predicted to receive 8-10 inches of rain through Sunday night.
Louisville is expected to receive 6-8 inches through the same period.
Several streams and rivers around Kentucky are at risk for minor to major flooding in the coming days, according to the NWS. In some cases, the flooding could be "life-threatening," meteorologists warn.
"This is going to be the biggest concern out of all this, as far as I know, because flooding is the number one killer," NWS Louisville meteorologist Ryan Sharp said.
Contact reporter Killian Baarlaer at kbaarlaer@gannett.com or @bkillian72 on X.
This story was updated to add a video.