Beshear declares state of emergency as severe New Year’s Day storms cross Kentucky

Severe storms made their way across the state Saturday, bringing strong winds, heavy rain, hail and more tornado and thunderstorm warnings to communities already on edge three weeks after the deadliest tornado event in Kentucky’s history.

Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency Saturday afternoon.

Businesses in downtown Hopkinsville were severely damaged after a tornado reportedly touched down, and “numerous households” sustained damage in Taylor County after a possible tornado touchdown, the governor’s office said in a news release.

Rainfall of 2 to 5 inches was expected over much of the state.

In Casey County, 5.25 inches of rain was recorded by late Saturday afternoon, and a local state of emergency had been declared, according to Beshear’s office. Owsley County had also declared a local state of emergency.

Roads were closed and water rescues were undertaken in a number of counties, including Green, Barren, Taylor, Adair, Owsley, Breathitt and Casey, because of flash flooding, the governor’s office said.

“It is devastating that we are once again experiencing severe weather just weeks after the deadly tornadoes hit Western Kentucky. Sadly, some counties have been affected by both of these events,” Beshear said in a news release. “We will continue to monitor the weather and provide needed updates. Everyone be aware, stay safe and seek shelter when advised.”

Kentucky’s Emergency Operations Center was activated, and Kentucky Emergency Management Director Michael Dossett asked people to stay off the roads if possible in affected counties to allow emergency crews to respond.

After a storm passed through Bowling Green early Saturday afternoon, the city tweeted a photo that showed damage to the front of a business, saying utility workers and others were “responding to reports of structural damage and downed trees in the vicinity of Cave Mill Road and Shive Lane.“

The city asked residents to report blocked roads and continue monitoring the weather.

Travis Puckett, deputy emergency manager for Warren County, said a furniture store in Bowling Green sustained wind damage and some bricks were knocked off an apartment building, but there were no reports of collapsed buildings or injuries.

Three buildings were reportedly damaged when “a spin up” was reported in Hopkinsville late Saturday morning, said Kyle Wilkins, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Louisville.

Christian County Emergency Management posted on Facebook Saturday afternoon, asking people to avoid “9th Street, Walnut Street, 7th Street and surrounding area.”

“We are trying to get electric workers into the damaged area,” the agency said.

Photos shared via Twitter by Hopkinsville radio station WHOP showed damage to several commercial buildings with sheets of metal strewn about in one photo.

Scott Chelf, deputy director of the Campbellsville-Taylor County Emergency Communications Center, said firefighters, EMS and police were dispatched to a report of a house with storm damage at about 1 p.m. As of about 4 p.m., Chelf said he knew of at least a couple of structures with “quite a bit of damage.”

One road was shut down because of downed power lines, but Chelf said there were no reports of injuries in Taylor County because of the storm.

The center said in a Facebook post Saturday morning that water rescues were underway after several vehicles were “overcome with swift water in the area of Cane Valley and Coburg Road” near the Adair-Taylor County line and Green County.

Tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings were issued in multiple counties as a line of storms rolled through early Saturday afternoon. Most of the state was covered by flood watches, warnings and advisories.

A large swath of southeastern Kentucky, central Tennessee and northern Alabama was covered by a tornado watch until 8 p.m. The National Weather Service said scattered wind gusts of up to 80 mph were likely and isolated quarter-sized hail was possible.

Wilkins said heavy rainfall was reported across southern Kentucky ranging from Warren County into eastern Kentucky Saturday morning, with some areas reporting four inches of rain or more.

Fayette County received nearly an inch of rain from midnight through about 11 a.m., Wilkins said, but more rain was expected over Central Kentucky throughout the afternoon.

“There’s still quite a bit of rain left,” Wilkins said.

WKYT Meteorologist Chris Bailey tweeted early Saturday afternoon that the first day of the new year was “already the wettest New Year’s Day on record in Lexington.”

“Major flooding issues unfolding in our region,” Bailey said in a tweet just after 1:30 p.m. “Hardest hit is Casey county with water rescues underway.”

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet reported several road closures because of flooding, including U.S. 127 in Liberty between milepoints 16 and 18, Ky. 3260 between milepoints 0 and 1 in Pulaski County and Ky. 2024 in Owsley County.

Beshear’s office said some roads were completely or partially covered in Floyd, Knott and Pike counties as of noon Saturday.

In Lexington, police handled calls about high water in a number of locations. As of about 4 p.m., police were responding to calls about water over roads at Leestown Road and Dolan Lane, Georgetown Road at Berea Road, Bowman Mill Road and Old Harrodsburg Road and at Ironworks Pike and Russell Cave Road.