Areas of Lexington Still Without Power
Tornadoes Confirmed, Others Under Review
Jessamine Co. Not Hit By Tornado
Tornado Confirmed In Harrison County
The counties hit were; Meade, Hardin (2),Allen, Monroe, Spencer (2), Washington (2), Mercer, Muhlenburg, Calloway, Bath, Menifee, Harrison, Nelson (2), and Franklin.
The NWS is still assessing storm damage across the state to determine if it was caused by a tornado. They plan to return to Mercer County Friday morning for a second survey. The also will look at damage in southern Fayette County and the Boonesboro area.
Officials were in Harrison County, Thursday morning and after seeing damage there they say was caused by a tornado.
The NWS has determined the strength of that tornado as a EF2. That means winds were in excess of 110 mph.
The NWS also confirmed the storm damage in Frankfort was also caused by an EF1 tornado with winds around 100 mph.
The harshest tornado to hit Kentucky struck near Cecilia in Hardin County, with winds of up to 115 miles per hour.
Four people died in Allen County near the Tennessee border, and
three family members died at a Muhlenberg County mobile home park
in western Kentucky, authorities said. On Wednesday, the governor
visited areas hit hard by storms that swept through Kentucky
beginning late Tuesday.
"This is a horrible situation," Beshear said. "I am putting
boots on the ground in these areas to view the destruction and
determine how public emergency service can best assist those facing
loss of family and property."
In Frankfort, state lawmakers prayed for storm victims.
The weather was part of a violent burst of tornado-producing
storms that also slammed Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee,
killing at least 55 people in the South and injuring dozens more.
Damage is widespread throughout the state. Weather surveyors say straight line winds left behind destruction in Jessamine and Fayette counties.
Lexington Code Enforement officials went door to door in hard hit areas Thursday. They say it appears American Ave. suffered the brunt of the storm. Officials flagged homes which are no longer liveable.
