Dangerous Storms Rip Through Eastern Kentucky, Leaving More Than 15,000 Without Power

MOREHEAD, Ky. — A line of dangerous thunderstorms swept across Central and Eastern Kentucky Tuesday evening, bringing down trees and power lines, triggering tornado warnings and leaving thousands of residents without electricity.

The severe weather began escalating around 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, when the National Weather Service in Jackson began issuing severe thunderstorm warnings for portions of the region.

At approximately 5:00 p.m., forecasters issued an “Extremely Dangerous Situation” Severe Thunderstorm Warning for an area that included Mount Sterling in Montgomery County and extended east toward Morehead in Rowan County.

That warning was followed almost immediately by a Tornado Warning affecting portions of Montgomery, Bath, Fleming, Lewis, Rowan, Elliott, Morgan and Menifee counties. The tornado warning was based on radar-indicated rotation.

Trees and Power Lines Down Across Rowan County

The storms caused widespread reports of downed trees and power lines across Rowan County.

Among the locations where trees were reported down were Clear Fork Road, Mullins Road and Old Hilda Road, along with several locations within the City of Morehead.

Live power lines were also reported down on Pennington Flat Road, prompting the Morehead Fire Department to respond. Motorists and residents were urged to avoid the area and stay well away from the downed lines.

On Valley Road, the storms brought down another power line that subsequently caught fire. The line was reportedly located some distance from the roadway. The fire department responded to the scene and notified the power company.

The severe weather also affected the National Weather Service office in Jackson, disrupting its ability to transmit warnings. Another National Weather Service office stepped in to issue warnings and information for the affected area.

Farther west, the storms also caused delays at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington.

By approximately 6:30 p.m., the strongest storms had largely moved out of the area, but they left behind widespread power outages.

According to outage totals available at that time, 15,838 customers were without electricity across The Morehead Minute’s eight-county coverage area:

TOTAL: 15,838

Residents should continue to use caution Tuesday evening, particularly around downed trees and power lines. Never approach or attempt to move a downed electrical line, and motorists should watch for debris and utility crews working along area roadways.

Utility crews were working Tuesday evening to assess the damage and begin restoring power across the region.