Storms late Friday uprooted trees, brought down limbs and caused lengthy power outages in Hopkinsville and Christian County, but the damages were not as severe as those in other areas of Kentucky, including Somerset and London, were numerous deaths were reported from apparent tornadoes.
“This is another tough morning for Kentucky after a night of deadly weather,” Gov. Andy Beshear said.
In the Pennyrile region, the National Weather Service will send teams Sunday or Monday to survey two areas of potential tornado damage — one in northern Trigg County and the other extending from northern eastern Christian County across most of northern Todd County. The NWS office at Paducah said in a Facebook post that additional damage surveys may be needed.
Hopkinsville residents were out Saturday morning removing debris in their lawns and stacking tree limbs at curbs. The sound of chain saws, wood chippers and power generators carried from street to street.
City crews were clearing debris from a number of streets that were temporarily blocked, including South Main Street between Third and Fourth streets, East 18th Street at Walnut Street, Phelps Avenue between 16th and 17th streets, and East First Street Extension near Butler Road.
“If you must travel, be cautious of low-hanging limbs, communication lines, and power lines,” a city official said in a Facebook post.
Hopkinsville Electric System reported multiple power outages Friday night as a result of “high winds.” As of 6:15 a.m., crews had restored power to 3,500 customers but still had eight broken poles and a number of lines down, the utility reported.
At about 11 p.m. Friday, Pennyrile Electric reported outages affecting 14,482 members. (The utility serves parts of nine counties with 48,000 members.) As of 11 a.m. Saturday, the number of members without power had been reduced to 7,007, according to a Facebook post.
“As we continue to restore power for our members, several additional crews have arrived from out of town to assist with outages,” a Pennyrile Electric official said in the post. “If you are experiencing an outage and use electricity for a medical device, please make plans for extended outages.”
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
