Strong winds and storms expected in part of Ky. already suffering after deadly tornadoes
As Western Kentucky continues the recovery and cleanup from a deadly series of tornadoes last weekend, a round of high winds and storms is on the way for some of the areas already suffering the most.
Much of Western Kentucky — including Graves, Hopkins, Muhlenberg and Caldwell counties, which had some of the highest death tolls from the tornadoes — is covered by a hazardous weather outlook issued Tuesday by the National Weather Service.
Parts of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana and southeast Missouri are also included in the outlook, which calls for strong winds Wednesday, followed by heavy rain late Wednesday night through Friday.
Though the weather service emphasized that “severe weather is not expected,” the forecast does call for the “possibility for thunderstorms,” with a “marginal risk” for flooding in some places.
“Our first concern is with increasing wind,” said Chris Noles, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah.
Wind speeds will average 15 to 30 mph, with gusts of up to 40 mph possible, “especially Wednesday evening,” the weather service said in the outlook.
For counties with storm damage, “that may be impactful,” Noles said.
As the front moves in, the chances of rain will increase after midnight Wednesday, with “pockets of moderate to heavy rain, and a decent amount of it,” Noles said.
He said 1 to 3 inches of locally heavy rain is possible through Friday evening.
Noles said that is problematic for areas where tornadoes left behind “open buildings, people with tarps on their roofs.”
Noles said the rain also complicates matters for people doing search and recovery and trying to clean up from the tornadoes.
“Just the ability to get around is going to get very difficult Thursday through Friday,” he said.
His best advice: “Pay very close attention to the forecast.”
In Central Kentucky, “tomorrow’s going to be on the breezy side,” said Ron Steve, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Louisville.
But, he said, “we’re not going to be as windy as Western Kentucky.”
He said winds of 10 to 20 mph are expected Wednesday, with gusts of about 25 mph, followed by rain Thursday through Saturday.
Steve said some parts of Central Kentucky could get 2 inches of rain or more, which brings with it the possibility of some localized flooding.
