Third Afternoon Update:
The National Weather Service Paducah confirms two tornadoes struck Fulton County Thursday night. In a series of Tweets, NWS said the first tornado was an EF1 that traveled 8 miles north of Hickman to five miles southeast of Hickman with peak winds of 110 mph. The second tornado was an EF2 east of Hickman that traveled to the Tennessee border. This tornado peaked at 125 mph.
Second Afternoon Update:
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said all state highways in Hickman are expected to be passable and reopened to traffic by 5:30 Friday afternoon. Utility crews will close some highways at 6 on Saturday morning to resume work. KY 125 is set to close in several locations to restore power to areas.
The KYTC Fulton Co. Maintenance Facility suffered some storm damage to the salt dome, tractor shed and tractors. Damage to the salt dome, however, is not expected to hinder snow response efforts this weekend.
Gibson Electric Membership Corporation said Friday afternoon crews have restored power to all but two of the 2,500 members who experienced outages. One outage remains south of Hickman and the other in Obion County, Tennessee. Service is expected to be restored by the end of today.
Afternoon Update:
Storms last night through Hickman have left the city with severe damages. Two government buildings, a cemetery and several homes and businesses have been damaged - including Little General, the city’s only retail gas station. Downed trees and power lines have closed several roads and no detours are available.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Public Information Officer Keith Todd said, For right now there is no vehicular traffic going into Hickman. The main concern was the safety of the utility workers. By taking traffic out of the area they don’t have to have flaggers and that puts more people into repairing the damage.”
Todd says roads are likely remain close into the early evening. Recovery work is likely to continue through the weekend. Kentucky Emergency Management officials said in a release downed wires and poles require repair and about 20 utility poles need to be replaced.
A local church is offering food and shelter to storm victims. Fulton County Judge Executive Jim Martin says police officers from across the commonwealth have come to assist citizens and with traffic control.
He says the relief efforts are inspiring. “We’ve had an immense outpouring of volunteers from the community. The rescue squad-several of those gentlemen were helping out from four and five this morning and then turning around and going to work. It goes to show what kind of community you have," Martin said.
Assessment teams are inspecting damage today.
Emergency management officials suspect a tornado caused the damage.
Earlier:
Fulton County Emergency Management is reporting significant storm damage to the city of Hickman following last night's severe storm.
According to a press release from the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, the majority of the damage occurred within the city limits in the area of Hwy. 1099 Bypass and KY 125. The county dispatch lost power and suffered water damage, and local 911 calls have been routed to Kentucky State Police Post 1.
Fulton Co. Sheriff's Office said the county detention center suffered structural damage, but there were no injuries. Some inmates were temporarily relocated to another facility.
There are no reported injuries or fatalities. Emergency officials are in the process of conducting wellness checks throughout the impacted area and are asking citizens to check on their families and neighbors.
Citizens and businesses are encouraged to report damaged to Fulton County Emergency Management at (270) 236-3480.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet said most state highways in Hickman are blocked by downed trees and power lines. Utility crews are working to clear the damage. Roads affected are KY125 near KY 1129, KY166 at KY 239, KY 94 at 239 in Cayce and KY 1099 Hickman Bypass.
