Kentucky

Eastern Kentucky bears the brunt of Helene storm damage Friday. What to know

Published

1 year ago

September 28, 2024

Eastern Kentucky bears the brunt of Helene storm damage Friday. What to know

Several counties and cities in eastern and central Kentucky declared states of emergencies after remnants of Hurricane Helene — now considered a post-tropical cyclone by the National Hurricane Center — pounded the region with heavy rain and winds Friday.

After making landfall in northwest Florida’s Big Bend region Thursday night as a category four storm, Hurricane Helene’s remnants migrated into Kentucky, wreaking fallen trees, downed electrical lines and widespread power outages.

Gov. Andy Beshear announced on social media that the following counties declared states of emergencies Friday:

Boyd County
Breathitt County
Clark County
Clay County
Lee County
Letcher County
Magoffin County
Wolfe County

Gov. Andy Beshear said the following cities declared states of emergencies Friday:

Ashland
Catlettsburg
Clay City
Winchester

Power outages impacted roughly 221,000 households across the state Friday, Beshear said.

Alex Vorst, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service Office Jackson, Kentucky, which oversees forecasting for many of the areas that sustained the worst damage, said fallen trees and powerlines were the primary sources of damage. Wind gusts above 40 mph and the damp ground caused by steady rain created conditions for trees and poles to topple over, he said.

The National Weather Service Office Jackson is close to verifying the damage within their territory with emergency dispatch centers in each of the impacted counties, Vorst said.

Parts of eastern Kentucky received rain Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the arrival of Helene’s remnants. The mounting rainfall throughout Friday compounded the impacts of the wind, Vorst said.

“You’re having essentially four days of nonstop rain. That’s going to make soil saturated, and when you throw 40-55 mph wind gusts on top of that, it really makes it easy for trees to fall down. And that’s a big part of what we saw yesterday,” Vorst said.

Tony Edwards, spokesperson for the National Weather Service Forecast Office Charleston, which oversees Boyd County, reported a similar scope of damages in northeast Kentucky. Boyd County suffered significant tree damage, he said.

With trees still covered with leaves this time of year, wind has more surface area to catch and pull off tree limbs, Edwards said.

“When you get that kind of wind with trees leafed-out, it’ll do quite a bit of damage,” he said.

The number of people without power is steadily dropping. As of 11 a.m. Saturday, more than 130,500 customers are without power.

Windy conditions are expected to fade throughout Saturday, though southern and eastern sections of central Kentucky could still see gusts at speeds 20-25 mph, according to the National Weather Service Louisville. Rain is expected to stick around through the weekend and early into next week, Vorst said. As of late Saturday morning, the center of the weather system is hanging over the western portion of the Kentucky-Tennessee border, according to the National Hurricane Center.

“As these remnants have stalled over the commonwealth, that’s going to keep rain and some isolated thunderstorms in the forecast through the weekend and then early next week,” Vorst said.

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Kentucky

Kentucky among Southeastern states receiving FEMA disaster recovery funding

Published

17 minutes ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Kentucky among Southeastern states receiving FEMA disaster recovery funding

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the approval of nearly $23 million in funding to support natural disaster recovery throughout the Southeast.

Kentucky is among several states receiving funds for state-managed recovery programs after Hurricane Helene and other past disasters hit the Southeast, a news release from FEMA said.

According to FEMA, Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee will administer more than $2.1 million for disaster unemployment assistance to help those who may not be able to work as a direct result of a disaster.

Kentucky, alongside Georgia and Tennessee, was also awarded $2.4 million to fund crisis counseling and mental health support.

The funds will help pay for counselors and other services to help people with disaster-related stress and trauma, according to FEMA.

More information about state-managed recovery programs funded by FEMA can be found on the agency’s website.

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Kentucky

Kentucky mother, daughter turn down $26 million offer for their land: “It’s priceless”

Published

12 hours ago

March 26, 2026

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Kentucky mother, daughter turn down million offer for their land: “It’s priceless”

Kentucky mother, daughter turn down $26 million offer for their land: “It’s priceless” – CBS News

Watch CBS News

A mother and daughter in Kentucky have turned down a $26 million offer for their land. The offer came from an unnamed tech company wanting to build a data center. CBS News’ Jared Ochacher spoke with the family.

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Kentucky

Key dates and a possible sneak peek for Kentucky Basketball fans

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Key dates and a possible sneak peek for Kentucky Basketball fans

During his recent radio show, Pope offered a sobering reality check regarding the timeline for the rest of his staff overhaul.

“We’re going through a little bit of a hiring process that will be ongoing—probably for the next six weeks,” Pope explained. “We could have some closure on some things quickly, but I can’t really talk in detail about anything until it gets through the whole HR process.”

In a vacuum, a six-week HR timeline is standard corporate procedure. But in the modern landscape of college basketball, that timeline is a massive hurdle because of the newly accelerated Transfer Portal window instituted by the NCAA.

The 15-Day Transfer Portal window

Players cannot officially enter their names into the Transfer Portal until April 7th. However, anyone paying attention knows that backdoor deals are already being orchestrated, and agents are prematurely announcing their clients’ intentions to leave. It is an unregulated mess, but it is the reality of the sport.

That April 7th opening is the first major date to circle on your calendar.

Once the portal opens, it remains active for exactly 15 days. When that window slams shut, no new names can enter. There are no graduate exemptions or special loopholes for late decisions. If a player plans on transferring, they must formally notify their current school before that 15-day window expires on April 21st at 11:59 PM. If they miss the deadline, they are stuck.

Mark Pope has to have his staff aligned, his evaluations complete, and his recruiting pitches perfected before that window opens. It is indeed a very short clock as the coaching staff looks to change drastically.

Once the dust from the transfer portal finally settles, the new-look Wildcats will quickly hit the floor.

Official mid-June practices will tip off the summer schedule, but Pope recently hinted that an international offseason trip is currently in the works. Per NCAA rules, college basketball programs are only allowed to take these foreign exhibition tours once every four years.

If the trip gets finalized, BBN will get a highly anticipated, early look at this brand-new roster competing against actual opponents long before Big Blue Madness in the fall.

Needless to say, it is going to be an incredibly busy, high-stakes few months in Lexington.

Any guesses on where Pope and company plan on going? And do you like the new Transfer Portal window?

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