2021 Tornado Western Kentucky

The Kentucky Senate has voted to create a layer of legislative oversight for relief funds, like the ones created by Gov. Andy Beshear to help people recover from tornadoes and flooding.

A significant milestone will be observed this weekend in western Kentucky. It was a year ago that more than a dozen tornadoes ripped through the region leaving a giant trail of death and destruction. In this edition of WUKY's award winning history series Saving Stories, Doug Boyd with UK's Nunn Center shares interviews from a project featuring emergency management personnel and first responders on the front lines during and after the December 2021 tornado outbreak in Western Kentucky. They talk about the opportunity to learn about the long-track tornadic system and how Western Kentuckians successfully overcame adversity from such devastation.

Music filled the air in Western Kentucky over the weekend where nearly a thousand instruments were handed out to people whose lives were turned upside down by December’s deadly tornadoes. Karyn Czar was there for the distribution and filed this report.

With many Western Kentuckians still struggling to put their lives back together in the wake of December's deadly tornadoes, a project to replace their lost musical instruments has seen a surge of written requests in the last 24 hours.

Kentucky’s death toll from devastating tornadoes in December has risen. Gov. Andy Beshear on Monday announced the deaths of a woman and her infant.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell visited the Kentucky Emergency Management Center to get an assessment of the progress being made in Western Kentucky, where deadly tornadoes tore through the region on December 10th. WUKY’s Karyn Czar reports.

Exactly five weeks ago tornadoes ripped through Kentucky, leaving 77 people dead and paths of destruction that stretched for miles. Just daysafter the deadly storms, President Joe Biden visited Dawson Springs and Mayfield and vowed that the federal government would be “in this for the long haul.” On Friday, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden echoed that promise.

Gov. Andy Beshear has revealed plans to provide an assistance package for Kentucky communities devastated by recent tornadoes. He vowed to“rebuild every structure and every life.” The Democratic governor delivered his annual State of the Commonwealth address Wednesday night. WUKY's Karyn Czar reports.

Gov. Andy Beshear said the state is continuing to respond to a severe weather system that impacted much of Western, Eastern and South Central Kentucky Saturday and is preparing for winter weather to arrive Sunday night.

Natural disasters bring out the best in people as we have seen for nearly three weeks now in Western Kentucky but they can also bring out the worst. The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office is doing what it can to stop scammers from preying on Kentuckians who are already hurting from the deadly tornadoes that ripped through their towns.