CARROLLTON, Ky. — A strong line of storms roared through northern Kentucky on Thursday afternoon, just after 2 p.m. The National Weather Service (NWS) confirms a tornado touched down in Milton.
The National Weather Service (NWS) out of Louisville is in Milton and report seeing EF-1 damage. The service also said it saw low-end EF-2 damage found east of Milton in Trimble County but caution they've only just begun their survey. NWS says it appears the tornado followed the Ohio River.
Mayor Robb Adams, D-Carrollton, took to the City of Carrollton’s Facebook page to provide citizens with updates about what was happening.
Robb believes a tornado touched down on the west side of Carrollton. Robb said it was in Carroll County after it left Milton. Only the west side of the city received any damage.
Robb said there have been reports of ruptured gas lines and at least two fires. Robb said in his Facebook video, the suspected tornado came up KY 36, jumped the river and went into Indiana. The system moved through the area quickly.
Belinda Phillips captured the tornado and shared it with Spectrum News 1 from her Facebook page.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) said there is slow traffic on Interstate 71 near Glencoe—mile markers 62 to 65—because of hail-covered roads. It confirmed KY 36—mile markers 1 to 5 in Carroll County are closed because of downed trees and power lines. They don’t know how long the road will be closed.
He says all first responders and utility crews are on the scene working to determine what happened and where to begin. Robb is urging everyone to avoid the area along KY 36.
Kentucky Emergency Management told Spectrum News 1 power, internet and communication are the biggest problems right now. There isn’t a clear picture of what they are addressing.
Mayor Robb confirmed the internet issue in his video. He pleaded with citizens not to call police dispatch seeking information, instead he said the line should be used only for reporting emergencies.
Children were in school during the storm and Mayor Robb said he knew they were safe because the storm did not cause any damage to the city. Robb said Carroll County schools had plenty of notice about the storm. He said he knew they “sheltered in place,” but did not know about dismissal procedures.
The school district posted to its own Facebook page during the storm and said they were in lockdown as directed by their procedures, but said students would be released at normal time. The district said buses may be delayed because of downed power lines on KY 36.
The school said if debris prevented the buses from traveling, drivers would return to schools.
There are no known injuries and Mayor Robb said that could change. He said he would provide updates as he could.
Trimble County is reporting 4,100 power outages.
Another line of storms is expected to hit the state late Thursday into Friday