While a flood watch covers the entire state of Kentucky, the exact amount of rainfall any one area could expect is subject to change -- with the long band of higher totals now running just north of Lexington.
Beshear said the fluctuating forecast led him to place the commonwealth under a state of emergency.
“We won't know exactly where the majority of rain will go until right up into Saturday. Of course, we hope, continues to move northward and misses most of Kentucky, but we have to prepare, for significant rain,” Beshear said.
Weather watchers say Lexington could receive 3-4" -- with Louisville and Frankfort potentially in line for up to 6".
Eastern Kentucky is also in the crosshairs of the projected storm and areas still recovering from the historic flooding of 2022 and while forecasters aren’t expecting rainfall to those levels, emergency management officials are preparing “for anything.”
The conditions could result in flash flooding and dangerous driving conditions. The Kentucky Emergency Operations Center and units of the Kentucky National Guard have been activated.
The Governor has also initiated the state’s price gouging laws which make it illegal for businesses to raise prices on necessary goods and supplies during an emergency.