Severe weather from Hurricane Helene continues to impact Kentucky

KENTUCKY ( FOX 56 ) — The remnants of Hurricane Helene are still affecting the Commonwealth, with significant impacts expected to persist throughout the weekend. Thousands of residents are currently without power as utility contractors work diligently to restore services.

In a news briefing, Gov. Andy Beshear provided details on the ongoing weather situation: “What we are looking at in this event is widespread rain and gusty winds. The widespread rain is 3 to 5 inches, possibly all the way through Sunday night. I believe the vast majority of the rain we’re going to get today may be around 70%.”

These hazardous conditions have resulted in numerous downed trees and power lines, occupying the resources of companies like Kentucky Utilities.

Daniel Lowry from Kentucky Utilities said, “We’re at just under 100 thousand customers who are impacted. Last I checked, it was around 35,000 in the Lexington area, but we hope to be able to make strides in the next little bit once this storm has moved past.”

As of Friday afternoon, Kentucky Utilities indicated that nearly 100,000 customers were without power, with hundreds of thousands affected across the state.

Lowry emphasized that the company was prepared for the storm’s arrival. “We were obviously aware of this storm, and we were ready to respond. They’ve been working from the beginning to get folks restored, and as the storm swept through, we just had to keep up.”

In a Friday news conference, Gov. Beshear urged residents to remain “weather aware” and advised commuters to heed safety warnings like turn around, don’t drown.

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“Be careful, no texting, no phone calls. If you’re out in the middle of this, we need your 100% attention while you’re driving, for your safety, and for the safety of those around you. We want to make sure that everybody makes it through this, and the lessons that we have learned about being smart, being cautious, and looking out for each other will help us face Hurricane Helene.”

Lowry also reported that more than 800 wires were down across their service territory, highlighting the widespread nature of the storm’s impact on the Commonwealth.

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