Region drenched under heavy rain, floods
Published 1:07 pm Friday, April 4, 2025
High winds and tornado threats that hammered the region Wednesday night gave way to excessive rainfall Thursday and Friday, drenching southcentral Kentucky.
By Friday morning, Warren County had seen more than four and a half inches of rain since Thursday. Butler County got the most rainfall in the region at just shy of five and a half inches in the same timeframe, according to the Kentucky Mesonet.
Roads across the region were closed due to flooding. District 3 of the Kentucky Transportation Cabient reported 38 road closures across the region Friday morning. In Warren County, the Interstate 165 exit onto Russellville Road was closed and barricades were set up on Russellville Road near Western Kentucky University.
Flood waters cover the entryway to the Weather Stone subdivision off Russellville Road on Friday morning, April 4, 2025, after excessive rainfall Thursday into Friday drenched southcentral Kentucky with more than four and a half inches of rain.
GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Flooding also caused area school districts to close. Warren County Public Schools utilized an NTI day on Friday due to flooding.
Butler County, Edmonson County and portions of northern Logan, Barren and Warren Counties were under a flash flood warning Friday. Simpson and Allen Counties were under a flood watch along with southern portions of Warren, Logan and Barren Counties, according to the National Weather Service.
Rain and storms were in the forecast until Sunday night, with NWS Louisville placing a flood warning until Monday night.
Warren County Emergency Management Director Ronnie Pearson told the Daily News Friday morning that his office was working closely with emergency services and encouraged residents to avoid driving through standing water.
“There are going to be places where water will stand and hasn’t stood in a long time,” Pearson said, adding that emergency personnel had worked “seven or eight” rescues just Friday morning.
Pearson said he had heard of no injuries or fatalities due to flooding.
A car sits in a flooded ditch on the corner of Sumpter Avenue and Normal Street on Friday morning, April 4, 2025, after excessive rainfall Thursday into Friday drenched southcentral Kentucky with more than four and a half inches of rain.
GRACE MCDOWELL / DAILY NEWS
Katie McKee, public information officer for the Bowling Green Fire Department, said BGFD personnel had responded to ten rescues for people trapped in cars since the early morning hours Friday, many of which were in the Russellville Road and Morgantown Road area.
BGFD urged residents to exercise caution.
“Please use caution when approaching roadways covered in water,” the department said in a statement. “It’s difficult to determine the depth of water which can quickly result in your vehicle submerging under water.
“Turn around, don’t drown.”
About Jack Dobbs
Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.
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