TORNADO WATCH IN EFFECT FOR AREA INCLUDING LAWRENCE

Weather summary:

Forecasts are predicting severe thunderstorms, damaging winds, hail and the possibility of tornadoes and flash flooding this afternoon. A broken line of severe thunderstorms with wind gusts up between 60-70 mph are expected to impact our service area starting around 12 p.m. and ending around 4 p.m. Wind gusts and the potential for tornadoes could lead to significant utility issues, especially in our heavily forested service region.

What we are doing to be prepared:

In advance of the storm system’s expected arrival, we activated all necessary crews, including line employees, contractors and tree workers who are all on alert for the possibility of service restoration work. Mutual assistance resources from outside our territory have already been secured and will assist as needed.

What customers can do to be prepared:

Make a plan in the event a power outage occurs. Check with those who are elderly, have children or have medical conditions to ensure they have a plan; and don’t forget about pets.
Charge devices such as phones, laptops, portable chargers and other electronics that will help you stay connected.
Prepare an emergency kit. At a minimum, include non-perishable food, water, a flashlight, batteries, a battery-powered radio, a first-aid kit and necessary medications.

Stay Safe:

Stay away from all downed power lines! Downed lines can carry an electric current that can cause serious or even fatal injuries. If you encounter a fallen wire, keep yourself and others away from it and anything it may be touching. Call 911 and Kentucky Power immediately at 1-800-572-1113 to report.
If you use a portable or RV generator, do not plug the generator into your circuit box.
Additional safety tips are posted at Safety (kentuckypower.com).

For More Information:

Customers can get specific information about the outages affecting their accounts via text message and/or email by subscribing to Kentucky Power outage alerts. To sign up, please visit kentuckypower.com/alerts.
Customers can report outages and check out the latest restoration information for their account anytime here or by downloading the Kentucky Power mobile app here .
Customers can also report to our Customer Operations Center at 1-800-572-1113.
Restoration Information also is posted on Facebook and on Twitter or @KentuckyPower.