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.

The Boston College Eagles football team (3-1, 1-0 ACC) is looking to end its non-conference slate on a positive note as it takes on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (3-1, 1-0 CUSA) on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. 

The Eagles have recorded wins over Florida State, Duquesne, and Michigan State, but suffered a loss to Missouri in Week 3. On the other hand, Western Kentucky lost its season opener to Alabama and has since won three in a row against Middle Tennessee State, Eastern Kentucky, and Toledo. 

Both teams are expected to be without their starting quarterbacks. Boston College’s Thomas Castellanos was ruled out on Friday afternoon after suffering an injury during the Eagles Week 4 win over Michigan State, while Western Kentucky’s TJ Finley will miss multiple weeks after suffering a lower leg injury in the Hilltoppers Week 2 victory over Middle Tennessee State. 

Kickoff is set for noon ET on ACC Network. 

Volleyball: Duke 3, Boston College 2.

Cross Country: 14th Place, 349 points in Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.

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Kentucky basketball is currently preparing for Big Blue Madness with some intense practices leading up to the event. Among Kentucky’s top players heading into the season is Koby Brea, a transfer guard from Dayton. As one of the best shooters in the nation, Brea will be a major part of Kentucky’s offense.

Mark Pope has raved about him numerous times about his incredible shooting ability, saying, “By the numbers, Koby Brea is the most efficient mid-to-high major player in college basketball in the last decade.” That’s very high praise, but the 6-foot-7 guard has backed that up. Last season at Dayton, he was extremely efficient, shooting 51.2% overall and 49.8% from three-point range.

Brea will be a massive part of Mark Pope’s offensive system, adding in that he’s also the perfect fit for it as an efficient shooter. The ball-handling and spacing of the offense will allow Brea to get plenty of open looks, and with his terrific shooting percentage, there’s no question about his numbers this season. He’ll get to show off that ability in a system that is perfect for players like him.

Let’s take a look at what his stats may look like this season.

Just like Jaxson Robinson, Brea will have plenty of opportunity to shine in Kentucky’s offense. The 6-foot-7 guard will likely even have more scoring opportunities just given how impressive of a shooter that is. Factor in the spacing, which will help get him open to shoot from deep, there will be plenty of shooting attempts up for grabs for Brea.

Brea will not only have plenty of opportunities to shoot, but he will also have plenty of scorers around him to pass it to, which will lead to more assist numbers in the long run. With the talent around him compared to his time at Dayton, there’s no reason to believe his assists won’t take a giant leap.

The 6-foot-7 guard should not need to get many rebounds this season with the big men ready to do the dirty work. Especially on the offensive end, Brea shouldn’t see many opportunities to get a rebound given his high-prioritized role as an efficient shooter.

Brea should be one of the players that fans are most excited to see this season, especially with how exciting Pope’s offense is and how it caters to shooters like him.