A tornado late Friday night caused significant damage in the Eli and Gosser Ridge communities of Russell County.
The National Weather Service said preliminary reports indicate the tornado hit Russell County as an EF-2 with wind speeds around 135 miles per hour before gaining strength as it moved east into Pulaski County.
The Eli and Gosser Ridge areas of Russell County sustained the heaviest amount of damage in the county.
Several homes and barns in the Eli community received damage, and at least one person was taken to the hospital after being inside a camper that flipped.
Much of the damage was around Highway 1611, including Sunshine Road and J. Tucker Road.
Two homes along Gosser Ridge Road received the heaviest amount of damage. One of the homes heavily damaged was owned by Crawford Gosser and the other by Jeremy and Ashley Roy.
The Stillwater subdivision off Gosser Ridge Road was also impacted, with trees being knocked over onto homes.
Several people remain without power following this weekend’s storms. South Kentucky RECC is reporting more than 2,000 power outages in Russell County alone, which amounts to about 23 percent of the cooperative’s customers. Many of those outages are in the eastern portion of the county, but outages are widespread across the county.
In total, South Kentucky RECC is reporting more than 10,000 power outages across 11 counties in its service area.
Anyone who hasn’t reported an outage yet can do so by calling 502-815-6344. South Kentucky RECC said those calling that number should leave their name, address, and phone number when reporting the outage.
Crews have been working through the weekend and continue today to try to restore power to those affected.
