Louisville tornado: The latest on storm damage, power outages after severe weather
At least one person in Louisville is believed to have died “potentially” as a result of a storm that hit the region Wednesday, Mayor Craig Greenberg said at a press conference hours after a tornado was reported in the city.
The coroner’s office would release more information later, he said, to confirm the cause of death. Information he released Wednesday night was ”preliminary.” The person who died has not been identified.
"Our thoughts tonight are with the family of that individual who passed this evening potentially related to the storm," Greenberg said.
Did a tornado hit Louisville Wednesday?
One EF-1 tornado had been confirmed by the National Weather Service, Greenberg said, and others probably touched down in the city, according to meteorologist John Gordon.
Where was damage reported in Louisville?
Most reported damage occurred in the south and southwest portion of the city, including a Pleasure Ridge Park apartment complex hit hard – city officials reported earlier in the evening that 50 people had been displaced at the Oaks at St. Andrews apartments on Brooklawn Drive. Personnel from the Red Cross setting up shelter for those who had been affected. One person was hospitalized, according to Fire Chief Jason Meiman, who added the roof was blown off two buildings. Additional damage was reported around the city.
The tornado warning was issued at 5:18 p.m. in northeastern Jefferson County but had expired by 5:40 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. A severe thunderstorm warning remained in place in the region and in counties east of Louisville until 10 p.m., along with Southern Indiana, which reported a tornado warning of its own earlier in the day.
Louisville road closures
Thirteen roads were blocked as of 9 p.m. he said. Blocked roads can be reported at 502-574-2111 ext. 5.
The severe weather kept city personnel busy. Greenberg said 1,265 calls to 911 came in between 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., about twice as many as normal in that timeframe.
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Power outages in Louisville, KY
As of nearly 7 a.m. Thursday, nearly 10,000 people were without power in and around Louisville, according to LG&E's updating map, with more out in surrounding counties. More than 11,000 were without power across Kentucky, according to poweroutage.us, an online aggregator. LG&E provides status updates during outages by texting STATUS to 4LGEKU (454358).
The tornado watch was initially put in place at 10:25 a.m. The National Weather Service had previously issued a wind advisory for Jefferson County and surrounding areas from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, with storms expected in the afternoon.
The latest system follows a round of storms that moved through the region last weekend. The weather service confirmed an EF-1 tornado with winds that reached up to 90 mph touched down in Shelby and Jefferson counties early Saturday morning as a part of that system.
What's the Louisville forecast?
Thursday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 3 p.m. then a slight chance of showers after 5 p.m. Cloudy with a high near 54. North wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Thursday night: Mostly cloudy with a low around 41. North wind 3 to 6 mph.
Friday: Mostly cloudy with a high near 60. Northeast wind 10 to 13 mph.
Friday night: Mostly cloudy with a low around 41. Northeast wind around 10 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny with a high near 64. East wind 10 to 14 mph. Partly cloudy with a low around 40 in the evening.
Easter Sunday: Sunny with a high near 69. Partly cloudy with a low around 43 in the evening.
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Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: EF-1 tornado reported, 1 dead in Louisville after severe storms
