Local sports with A.J. Brammer.
A storm system this morning brought high winds and thunderstorms across the area, with thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings declared in Breckinridge, Grayson, Meade, Hardin, Nelson, and LaRue counties between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.
That storm system resulted in a tornado touching down around Chaplin in Nelson County.
“We sent out a team, they went out and did a survey on it,” said Meteorologist Kevin Farina with the National Weather Service in Louisville. “Looks like they’re going to rate it as an EF-1, 95 miles per hour on the wind speeds there. EF-1 is almost 100 mile per hour winds. You can see trees down, of course damage to housing, but typically on your lower end of tornado damage.”
The chance for severe weather this afternoon has prompted closings across the commonwealth. Governor Andy Beshear has closed all state office buildings, the LaRue County Courthouse is closed, and classes have been canceled this afternoon at the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky.
Farina says a smaller system is working its way through the area now, but the chance for storms continues through the evening.
“There’s some stuff just east of Bowling Green now that’s moving to the northeast that had some warnings on it,” Farina said. “Back behind that though there’s not much going on at the moment. The cold front is not expected to come through until this evening so we could still see some thunderstorms develop before evening.”
The city of Radcliff is advising residents of malfunctioning weather sirens located near Dawley Park ,the Walmart Neighborhood Market, and Hill Street. Residents should keep an eye on forecasts and stay alert.
Keep it tuned to Quicksie and The Wolf for more weather updates.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is advising anybody planning on traveling to view the April 8 solar eclipse to expect congested highways and limited parking at rest stops the closer you are to the path of totality.
The KYTC is lifting restrictions in select work zones and informing commercial drivers of expected traffic increases in order to help the flow of traffic. Sections of Interstate 65 in Bullitt and Hardin counties are among the select work zones.
KYTC District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie says while the area is not expected to be as congested as other areas of the commonwealth, the District Four team is still getting ready.
“Heavier congestion for eclipse traffic is expected over in western Kentucky and southern Indiana, but if we have any issues here, we’ll have people on call that Monday to go out and man any signals that need to be flushed through,” said Jessie. “Anything like that where we have any spotted backups, and those would only likely happen on routes like I-65 interchanges or maybe one of the parkway interchanges, but again, we are prepared to man some of those sites if need be.”
The KYTC recommends packing essentials to ensure a safe and comfortable ride, and recommends delaying travel home after the eclipse for a few hours to avoid the initial traffic swell.
Officials are projecting more than 1 million travelers will pass through Kentucky on their way to viewing locations.
Visit the KYTC’s eclipse page on the web for more information and tips.
Vine Grove Mayor Pam Ogden says the city has several events getting under way in April, the start of a busy calendar that continues through the rest of the year.
Odgen says Food Truck Thursday has gotten more and more popular, with 10 trucks at Optimist Park last Thursday.
“Cars were everywhere, so that has been a very liked event that we’ve had,” said Ogden. “It will go through the entire month of April and then it won’t come back until October.”
The Vine Grove Farmers Market kicks off this week and will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday.
“We’re gonna have a lot of different stuff this year,” Ogden said. “Watch our Facebook page because we will update in the morning who is out there when we do the update, but there could be more people that come, so come out and enjoy our farmers market. I think it’s gonna be great this year.”
April is also the time for Spring Clean Up, which the city does with the assistance of Borders Disposal.
“They’ve handled our garbage in Vine Grove for years,” Ogden said. “They’re amazing. We have worked out a deal with them that the entire month of April, if you have anything that you need to get rid of, put it out there because they will not charge anything extra.”
Contact Borders for more information on item disposal, and follow Vine Grove City Hall on Facebook to stay up to date on happenings in the city.
Family Resource and Youth Service Centers at Hardin County Schools have organized a Spring Break scavenger hunt for district students.
The scavenger hunt features a space and science theme in honor of the upcoming solar eclipse. Participating schools include Meadow View, North Park, Radcliff, Rineyville, Vine Grove, and Woodland elementary schools, JT Alton and North middle schools, and North Hardin High School.
Children can find clues at one or all of the participating schools between now and April 8 during daylight hours. A QR code and directions will be posted at the main entrance of each school, with paper copies available if you do not have a smartphone.
Each school will give hints on where words and containers are located, and children should enter the words on their scavenger hunt sheets as they find them. Participants should leave containers and messages in their hiding spots after finding them so others can participate.
Prizes will be awarded to participants. Children should return their paper copies or submit online by April 10 to be eligible for prizes.
Find more information on the Hardin County Schools website or the Hardin County Schools – Kentucky Facebook page.
The Historic State Theater invites you and your family to enjoy two family favorites during the Spring Break Furry Film Fest this week.
“On Tuesday, April 2nd during Spring Break, we are showing the Aristocats,” said Elizabethtown Events Manager Beth Pyles. “Our showtimes are noon and 7 p.m. Then, on Thursday, we are showing Lady and the Tramp.”
With the movies being about cats and dogs, the folks at the state are looking to use the movies as an opportunity to support area cats and dogs.
“We are encouraging folks to bring in adult dog food, cat food, and kitty litter that we are going to give to our friends at the Hardin County Animal Shelter,” said Pyles.
Tickets to each show are $2 and can be purchased at the door or online at thestate270.org.