A series of Tornado Warnings triggered emergency alerts across central and southern Daviess County on Wednesday night, but local agencies reported little damage in the hours immediately following the storm. However, the threat from this week’s severe weather is not over, with a Flood Watch remaining in effect through 7 a.m. Sunday.
The most intense alerts started around 9:36 p.m., when the National Weather Service in Paducah issued a Tornado Warning for southern Daviess and surrounding counties. A confirmed “large and extremely dangerous” tornado was spotted on the ground near Madisonville shortly afterward, according to the NWS, prompting a Particularly Dangerous Situation alert — a rare and urgent warning. The system moved northeast at 55 mph according to forecasters, with projections placing it near Owensboro by about 10:10 p.m.
A “tornado-producing storm” was located over Calhoun at approximately 10:03 p.m., at which time the Tornado Warning for Daviess County was extended through 10:45. However, there was no report of a tornado in Daviess County and the Warning was canceled by approximately 10:30 as the system had already moved out of the area.
First responders in Daviess County reported limited impacts as of approximately 11 p.m.
The Daviess County Sheriff’s Office said the only issue they were addressing at the time was a downed tree in the 1000 block of Highway 140 East. The Daviess County Emergency Management Agency similarly noted only a few downed trees scattered throughout the area. The Daviess County Fire Department said emergency calls were at a minimum, and both the Owensboro Fire and Police departments said no incidents of damage had been reported.
Owensboro Municipal Utilities reported no power outages during the event, while Kenergy’s outage map showed a peak of about 4,000 affected customers systemwide around 9 p.m.
Of those Kenergy outages, just under 800 were in Daviess County — mostly in the Utica area — while approximately 1,300 customers were affected in Hopkins County, where the NWS confirmed the tornado touched down.
The threat for Daviess County and the surrounding area is not over, with the Flood Watch remaining a serious concern. The National Weather Service said that historic rainfall totals — potentially up to a foot or even more in some areas — could lead to widespread flash flooding, rising rivers, and dangerous travel conditions. Officials warned this could develop into a “particularly dangerous flooding situation,” especially with multiple rounds of rain forecast through the weekend.
Residents are urged to remain weather-aware and monitor updates as the storm system continues to move through the region.
