At least 4 tornadoes confirmed to have hit Louisville area as recovery continues
At least four tornadoes related to Wednesday's severe storms in the region have been confirmed by the National Weather Service, in the aftermath of a destructive weather system believed to have caused at least one death and left dozens displaced.
A high-end EF-1 tornado with a peak wind speed of at least 110 was confirmed in Louisville's Pleasure Ridge Park neighborhood by the weather agency, local meteorologist Ryan Sharp said, along with an EF-1 tornado with 95 mph winds in Newburg. And in a Twitter post, the National Weather Service said surveys found an additional EF-1 tornado with estimated wind speeds of 110 mph in Meade County, near Brandenburg. Those three tornadoes were confirmed Thursday.
The National Weather Service previously confirmed one other tornado hit Jefferson County during Wednesday's storms; an EF-1 tornado touched down in Newburg with a peak wind speed of about 90 mph. That tornado was reported to have had a "preliminary" width of about 100 yards, according to meteorologist John Gordon.
National Weather Service crews planned to survey additional damage in Southern Indiana west of Corydon, Sharp said.
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One death likely linked to storm
In a press conference after the storm late Wednesday night, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said one person died in a fatality "potentially related to the storm that happened in the Dixie Highway area."
Additional information would be released by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office and the person who was killed has not been identified publically.
"Our thoughts tonight are with the family of that individual," Greenberg said.
The tornado warning in Louisville was in place from about 5:18 p.m. to 5:40 p.m. Wednesday. Sharp said .27 inches of rain was reported at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
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Dozens displaced at PRP-area apartments
Damage was reported throughout the city, with the hardest-hit location being an apartment complex near PRP.
The roof was ripped off the Oaks at St. Andrews apartments on Brooklawn Drive. As of Wednesday night, the Red Cross was assisting 20 people at that complex who had been displaced during the storm, according to regional CEO Steve Cunanan, and the organization was responding to additional calls. The city initially reported a total of 50 people had been displaced due to the weather.
A flood of calls to 911 came in during the storm. Greenberg said 1,265 emergency calls were reported between 4:30-8:30 p.m., about double of expected activity.
Power outages around Louisville were widespread as well, with more than 18,000 reported Wednesday night by LG&E customers and more than 30,000 at one point around Kentucky.
As of noon Thursday, more than 7,000 outages remained for LG&E customers in the Louisville area, according to the company's updating online map, and more than 8,000 outages remained around the state, according to online aggregator poweroutage.us.
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What happens next
Wednesday's storm was devastating, but the forecast improves this weekend.
By Friday, mostly cloudy conditions are expected, with a high near 60 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. And a high of 64 and partly sunny skies are expected Saturday.
Reach The Courier Journal's breaking news team at lounews@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville tornadoes: 4 confirmed in Wednesday's storm amid recovery
