Rowan County Emergency Management

06/18/2026

6/18/26 8AM Morehead - Rowan County Storm Update

We were fortunate to come through the storms with no reports of major damage at this time. While there have been scattered impacts across the county, our community has fared well overall.

Currently, approximately 1,829 electric meters remain without power:
• KU – 889
• Kentucky Power – 358
• Clark Energy – 273
• Grayson RECC – 222
• Fleming-Mason Energy – 87

At this time, there is no estimated restoration time for power. Utility crews are responding to outages across multiple counties and are working as quickly as possible to restore service.

Several county roads have trees down, and the Rowan County Road Department is actively working to clear them. The Kentucky Department of Transportation is also responding to remove trees from state maintained roadways. The Morehead City Public Works are assessing and clearing city streets as well.

Motorists should use caution on KY 519 near the 1100 block (Glover Glass & Lock), where a three phase power pole was damaged. KU crews are on scene replacing the pole and delays should be expected in the area.

We appreciate the continued efforts of our utility crews, road departments, first responders, and everyone working to restore normal operations. Thank you to our residents for your patience and cooperation as recovery efforts continue.

Rowan Alert Signup
https://member.everbridge.net/76589467435147/login

06/18/2026

6/18/2026 455 AM Update

Tornado Watch and Severe Thunderstorm Warning active for our area! The arrival should be before 530AM.

06/18/2026

6/17/2026 1045PM Update

A Tornado Watch has been issued just to our north through Thursday morning. Please remain weather aware.

If you do not feel your residence is a safe place to shelter during severe weather, make arrangements ahead of time to stay with a friend, family member, neighbor, or someone else who has a safer structure. The goal is to already be at that location before storms arrive, as travel can become dangerous once severe weather begins moving into the area.

Never rely on a single method for receiving warnings. We encourage residents to use a combination of:
• Rowan Alert notifications
• NOAA Weather Radios
• Trusted weather apps
• Local media

Sign up for Rowan Alert:

https://member.everbridge.net/index/76589467435147

06/17/2026

As the potential for severe weather increases across our area today and tomorrow, now is a great time to review your emergency plans and preparedness measures.

Never rely on a single method for receiving warnings. We encourage residents to use a combination of:
• Rowan Alert notifications
• NOAA Weather Radios
• Trusted weather apps
• Local media

If you do not feel your residence is a safe place to shelter during severe weather, make arrangements ahead of time to stay with a friend, family member, neighbor, or someone else who has a safer structure. The goal is to already be at that location before storms arrive, as travel can become dangerous once severe weather begins moving into the area.

Sign up for Rowan Alert:

https://member.everbridge.net/index/76589467435147

06/17/2026

A strong storm system moves through the region from Wednesday night into Thursday. While there are a few failure modes with this setup in , impactful weather remains possible. A line of storms arrives along the I-64 corridor early Thursday Morning, then additional activity develops (and potentially trains) in Southern KY on Thursday afternoon/night. This activity poses risks for wind damage and heavy rain, so stay tuned for updates. Even the non-thunderstorm wind gusts will be strong on Wednesday night, so it's a good idea to secure loose objects ahead of time tomorrow!

06/11/2026

Hot and muggy conditions are forecast tomorrow afternoon, with heat indices approaching 100 degrees. Heat-sensitive interests are encouraged to take precautions as a result. Thankfully, a cold front approaches on Friday to provide some relief. A cold front approaches on Friday, providing some relief and triggering widespread showers/storms.

06/08/2026

05/27/2026

We’ve received several questions regarding Rowan Alert / Everbridge notifications from yesterday’s storms.

Yesterday, no National Weather Service warning polygons were issued directly for Rowan County. Warnings remained primarily to our west and south, so Rowan Alert did not send warning notifications within Rowan County. Since the system went live in May, Rowan County has fortunately not yet had a warning polygon issued requiring an alert activation.

The system operated as intended.

It is important to remember that neighboring counties may receive warnings while Rowan County does not. Seeing warnings nearby on television, social media, or weather apps does not always mean Rowan County itself is under a warning.

We encourage residents to use multiple ways to receive weather information, including:
• Rowan Alert
• NOAA Weather Radios
• Trusted weather apps
• Local media

If you do not feel your residence is a safe place to shelter during severe weather, please make arrangements ahead of time to stay with a friend, family member, or someone else with a safer structure before storms arrive.

We appreciate everyone’s feedback as we continue improving emergency communications within Rowan County.

Sign up link

https://member.everbridge.net/index/76589467435147

05/27/2026

5/26/26 10:15 PM Weather Update

Thunderstorms are moving into the area from the west bringing periods of heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and a small chance of hail. Wind gusts are expected to generally remain below 40 MPH.

10:45PM Update
Approximately 900 Fleming-Mason Energy meters are currently without power on the western side of Rowan County, generally from the I64 corridor area toward US 60.

At this time, the estimated restoration time is unknown.

Please remember to treat all downed power lines as energized.

05/16/2026

A second round of storms will likely move through this evening, mainly near the I-64 corridor in eastern Kentucky. The storms are expected to be in clusters, with damaging wind the primary threat. While isolated large hail and a brief tornado cannot be completely ruled out, confidence in these are much lower.