Power outages and extreme heat will make for a long holiday week for many in Eastern Kentucky.
A series of storms rolled through Eastern Kentucky beginning Friday and continuing through late Sunday night. In Floyd County, high wind downed trees and power lines, leaving many with out power.
Kentucky Power officials say that, late Sunday evening, winds in excess of 60 miles per hour combined with heavy rain to cause outages to more than 63,800 Kentucky Power customers. The storm caused extensive damage to power company lines, poles, cross arms and other electrical equipment.
According to officials with Kentucky Power, restoration crews have been working since the storm hit to assess damage and make repairs.
At this time, based on damage and outage estimates, company officials say it could be as late as Friday, July 6, before all customers in its service area affected by the storm are returned to service, although most customers will have power restored well before then. The company has brought in 380 professionals from outside utilities and electrical contractors to aid in the restoration effort.
In an update sent out on Twitter early Monday morning, Kentucky Power advised that, following Sunday night’s storms, the total number of people in their service without power was now over 41,000. There were nearly 4,000 customers without power in Floyd County at 10 a.m., Monday morning.
Making matters worse for storm victims is a forecast from the National Weather Service NWS of more extreme heat this week, as temperatures are expected to climb into the mid and upper 90s today, with dew points in the upper 60s, resulting in heat index values peaking around 100 degrees. The NWS is also warning people not to leave children or pets in a car, even with the windows left cracked open.They report that a vehicle can heat up to over 120 degrees in less than a half an hour. Leaving a child or pet in an enclosed vehicle, even for a few minutes, can be deadly.
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