Yes, Kentucky saw hurricane force winds Friday. Where the top wind speed were recorded

Matt DiSanto
·3 min read
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Friday’s severe storm brought strong winds throughout Kentucky and set at least one weather record.

The powerful storm, which descended on the Bluegrass state Friday afternoon, resulted in widespread power outages, plenty of damage, confirmed tornadoes in two counties and at least five deaths.

In a Saturday inclement weather press conference, Gov. Andy Beshear said the high winds “caused significant damage” across the state.

The National Weather Service has also compiled a list of preliminary wind speeds and reported damage.

Top wind speeds in Kentucky

Here’s the top wind gust speeds recorded via the state’s mesonet network:

  • Breckinridge County: 75 mph

  • Mercer County: 73 mph

  • Fayette County: 72.4 mph

  • Fulton County: 72.3

  • Taylor County: 71.3 mph

  • Simpson County: 71 mph

  • Shelby County: 70.7 mph

  • Mason County: 70.7 mph

  • Franklin County: 70 mph

The governor described the gusts as “very destructive winds,” and said emergency management officials and others were working to restore power, clear downed lines and trees and more.

Friday’s wind and a new record

Sustained winds across much of Kentucky generally sat between 25 and 40 mph as of 4 p.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Louisville, though gusts could be much stronger. The NWS said locally damaging wind gusts near Louisville were expected to climb between 55 and 70 mph through the early evening Friday.

Stronger gusts were set to gradually move out of the area Friday night, though sustained winds of more than 20 mph would continue for much of Kentucky through Saturday morning.

As of 9:30 p.m. Friday, the National Weather Service canceled the high wind warning that was in effect until 10 p.m. for much of Central Kentucky. It instead issued a wind advisory that expired at 1 a.m. Saturday.

The weather service said it expected westward winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts of 40 to 50 mph.

Locally, some Kentucky meteorologists took to Twitter Friday afternoon to discuss the unusually strong winds. LEX 18 meteorologist Emily Goodman noted a 69 mph wind gust in Lexington at about 4 p.m., while Spectrum News 1 meteorologist Alan Auglis tweeted a photo of a toppled White Castle sign in Bowling Green.

One Twitter user posted a photo of a barn roof caught in a tangle of power lines due to high winds near Midway.

Surface pressure at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport fell to an all-time record low of 977.1 millibars by about 3 p.m. Friday, according to the NWS. For reference, that’s generally the same level of low pressure that accompanies a Category 2 hurricane, according to the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association.

On Twitter, WKYT chief meteorologist Chris Bailey said Central Kentucky’s strong winds were “approaching hurricane force.”

Low air pressure generally lays the groundwork for severe, unstable weather, including heavy rain and gusty winds, experts say.

Friday afternoon all of Kentucky was under at least a wind advisory, though much of the state was observing a high wind warning, a tornado watch and occasional severe thunderstorm warnings as strong storms push across the Bluegrass State.

Both AccuWeather and the NWS publish real-time maps that display enforced watches, warnings and advisories across Kentucky.

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