From deadly tornadoes to ice storms to flash floods, the 2020s have brought multiple deadly severe weather events to Kentucky. Let's take a look at the meteorology that explains why.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00From flash floods, ice storms, and some of the most violent tornadoes in U.S. history,
00:05Kentucky seems to get more than its share of severe weather.
00:08It is a state that is pretty diverse.
00:11In the western part of Kentucky, we have an area that's much more prone to tornadoes,
00:17where gulf moisture leaves the gulf, comes north,
00:20and we often encounter tremendous temperature contrasts and wind shear
00:24as aggressive storms tear across the plains.
00:26In December of 2021, western Kentucky was hit hard during a two-day tornado event
00:32where at least 80 people were killed.
00:34It was an early winter severe weather outbreak that produced many tornadoes in western Kentucky.
00:39Some of these were long-track tornadoes impacting places like Bowling Green
00:43and especially Mayfield, Kentucky.
00:45The next year, in July of 2022, it was eastern Kentucky that faced catastrophe.
00:51Deadly flash floods swept through the bluegrass state, killing more than 45 people.
00:55The water channels down the mountains and down the hills
00:57and accumulates and rages through some of those valley floors.
01:02But it's not just flash floods and dangerous tornadoes.
01:05In early 2021, an ice storm knocked out power for more than 150,000 people.
01:11Kentucky is often at the spot where you have low-level cold air,
01:15but warmer air comes in unobstructed over your head coming up from the gulf,
01:19and that can lead to a recipe for disaster as rain falls on a shallow layer of sub-freezing air.
01:25AccuWeather experts say early warning, preparedness, and knowing the risks
01:29could be the first steps in saving lives.
01:32For AccuWeather, I'm Allie Reed.