Gov. Andy Beshear declares state of emergency before severe, 4-day weather event in Kentucky

Christopher Leach, Lexington Herald-Leader on Apr 2, 2025

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Gov. Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency before a severe and life-threatening storms arrives in Kentucky Wednesday and lingers through Saturday.

The storms are expected to arrive in the farthest areas of Western Kentucky around 6 p.m. EDT and push eastward across the state, according to the National Weather Service. A few Western Kentucky counties are under the highest risk assessment (level 5 of 5) of the NWS’ severe weather outlook, and multiple tornadoes, some potentially rating as an EF-3 or higher, appear likely.

Large hail and widespread damaging winds are also possible, according to the NWS.

“Tornadoes are expected, and I know that’s tough to hear. And we are most concerned about the area of Western Kentucky that has gotten hit far too much, as well as a wider area of Western Kentucky,” Beshear said in a press release. “Remember, these can be strong tornadoes, EF-2 and greater. We’re really concerned about people’s safety, especially in the overnight, because when storms or tornadoes hit while people are asleep, that’s sadly when we’ve lost the most people.”

The Kentucky National Guard is prepared to respond if severe weather does happen and the Kentucky Emergency Operations Center has been activated, according to Beshear.

The storm is projected to weaken and slow down as it travels eastward past Interstate 65, lowering the confidence in the storm’s intensity and timing for Central Kentucky. Lexington in the enhanced risk zone (level 3 of 5) of the storm, implying severe thunderstorms with varying levels of intensity.

The storm could arrive in Central Kentucky late Wednesday between midnight and 4 a.m. Thursday, and last for 1 to 2 hours, according to the NWS.

The storm is expected to leave the farthest eastern areas of the state by Thursday morning. The NWS said there are more chances for severe weather Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but the risk from those storms would be a slighter risk level (level 2 of 5).

The biggest concern following Wednesday’s storm is the historic, on and off rainfall that is expected to last through Saturday. Some areas of Western Kentucky could get up to 15 inches of rain, creating chances for life-threatening flash flooding, according to the NWS.

“It’s a very unusual mix of dangerous things,” said Justin Gibbs, a meteorologist for the NWS office in Paducah. “We’re going to have the risk of the tornadoes and potential for damage from that and then we’re going to have the potential for damage and danger from the flash flooding and eventual river flooding as well.”

The combination of severe weather and flash flooding is unusual and dangerous, but it’s not unprecedented for the area this time of year. Gibbs described it as a once in every 10 to 15 years type of weather event.

“It’s just spring time in the mid-Mississippi Valley and the Ohio Valley,” Gibbs said. “We get bad weather, so if you take 100 bad weather events and combinations of shear and instability and moisture, every now and then the dice roll comes up where you get something like this where you get a bad mix.”