Severe storms rock western Kentucky

Severe storms, including at least one large, destructive tornado, made their way through western Kentucky Sunday night, plunging hundreds of thousands into the dark and causing damage.

That includes in Christian County, where homes were damaged, trees were knocked down and power poles snapped—Christian County Emergency Management Director Randy Graham says the Pembroke area took a good hit from Sunday morning storms, with rescue efforts taking place in that area.

Roughly 25,000 Pennyrile Electric members remained in the dark as of Monday morning, with no real estimate on when everyone’s power might be restored. Officials say approximately 30 mutual aid crews were set to come to the area to help in the effort—but members should still expect extended outages.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency, as have several counties, and he urged citizens to stay off of the roadways to make way for electrical crews and first responders.

The National Weather Service in Paducah will be in Caldwell and Hopkins Counties, studying the damage path left when a large tornado traced it’s way past Princeton, Dawson Springs and Charleston, in a path that was eerily similar to that one another large tornado took in December of 2021.