Thunderstorms that brought high-speed winds through the region Friday left a mark in Louisville and around the Bluegrass State – and left plenty of work to be done Saturday.
About 80,000 people in Louisville were left without power by 9:45 a.m. Saturday morning, according to LG&E’s online outage map. Those city residents were among the more than 407,000 people around Kentucky who did not have electricity at that time, according to poweroutage.us, an online aggregator.
Friday’s storm brought heavy rain through the commonwealth followed by devastating high-speed winds, which peaked locally at 71 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Louisville. At least three people across the state had been killed due to the severe weather.
Gov. Andy Beshear called a state of emergency earlier Friday as a precaution. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, who’s set to speak at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, called a local state of emergency Friday evening, urging residents to exercise caution if traveling.
From Friday:White Castle sign falls, crushes car in Bowling Green amid wind storm in Kentucky
Here’s a quick look at what’s happening in Louisville and around Kentucky on Saturday, as the region picks up the pieces.
Power outages
Officials with LG&E will be busy Saturday working to restore power. Here’s a look at current local outages as of 9:45 a.m.:
- Jefferson County – 80,683
- Bullitt County – 1,960
- Oldham County – 8,988
- Meade County – 456
- Hardin County – 2,511
- Spencer County – 541
- Shelby County – 1,097
LG&E provides status updates during outages by texting STATUS to 4LGEKU (454358). A company spokesperson is set to speak alongside Greenberg at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
Local traffic
While Friday’s storm flipped trucks across the state and at one point caused two major interstate closures in Louisville, TRIMARC’S updating traffic map reported roads around the city were generally clear Saturday morning.
A total of 17 flights had been canceled at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, according to flight tracking software FlightAware.
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Deaths due to the storm
Four deaths were reported across the state, Beshear said – one person from Simpson County, two individuals from Edmonson County and a person from Logan County.
No additional information had been released as of Saturday morning.
High school basketball games moved
High school basketball postseason games that had been set to take place Saturday at Valley High School will now be played at Fern Creek High School, according to JCPS, due to a power outage.
Sixth Region boys games will take place at noon (Jeffersontown vs. Butler) and 1:30 p.m. (DeSales vs. Evangel Christian), while Seventh Region girls games will be held at 5 p.m. (Mercy vs. Bullitt East) and 7 p.m. (Sacred Heart vs. Central).
Saturday’s forecast
Saturday’s forecast should be a silver lining after Friday of dark clouds.
Sunny skies are expected in Louisville throughout the day, according to the National Weather Service’s local office, with highs in the upper 50s. Rain is not in the forecast.
Saturday night should be clear as well, with lows in the mid 30s, before giving way to clear conditions and temperatures in the 60s on Sunday.
What happened Friday
Friday was ugly in Louisville and around the commonwealth.
Several inches of rain fell in the city and in other parts of Kentucky as a fierce weather system moved west through the state. High-speed winds in the afternoon knocked down trees, power lines, light poles, trucks and other objects all over the region, causing traffic delays and other issues.
Jefferson County Public Schools and several other local groups and businesses were closed in anticipation of the weather, with high school basketball postseason action postponed until later in the weekend.
Reach The Courier Journal’s breaking news team at lounews@courier-journal.com.
