by Sarah Ladd, Kentucky Lantern
April 7, 2025

Kentucky is bracing for a “problematic” night with freezing temperatures on the way to complicate standing water and wet conditions following a four-day flooding event, Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday. 

Areas that have flooded over the last four days — areas around Frankfort, Louisville and Paducah — are forecast to hit 32 degrees and below overnight Monday, according to the National Weather Service. 

“This is going to be a dangerous night where temperatures fall, where it gets potentially below freezing,” Beshear said during a Monday press conference alongside Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, Kentucky Emergency Management officials and Frankfort and Franklin County representatives. 

“So, if you’re somewhere that’s very wet, if you’re trying to ride this out in a home that’s had water, tonight could raise concerns of hypothermia,” Beshear said.   

This forecast comes while the Ohio River at Louisville is at 64 feet — double its normal depth — and flood walls closed Friday in preparation. The Ohio River at Paducah is 45 feet, higher than it was even during the February floods. 

The Kentucky River at Frankfort is also flooded at nearly 49 feet, much higher than its normal depths of under 20 feet, according to the United States Geological Survey. 

“It looks like the water level is not going to get as high here in Frankfort as previously thought,” Beshear said. “Right now, it looks like the levees are holding and it looks like the water is receding faster than originally thought.” 

Still, emergency officials have asked Frankfort residents to continue conserving water while the city works to bounce back. 

“The lieutenant governor and I live here. We both live in Frankfort. We’re both conserving water, like we’re asking everybody else to do right now,” Beshear said. “This is very personal to us, and we’re going to make sure that everybody in this city, as well as others that have been impacted, can get back up on their feet, and that we can move forward.”

Frankfort is also under a dusk-to-dawn curfew Monday night. 

As of Tuesday morning, state officials reported that four people have died in the flooding. One person was missing as of Monday, and search and rescue teams are deployed. Meanwhile, 2,847 are under a boiled water advisory, 1,788 are without power and 354 Kentucky National Guard members are mobilized to help with storm response. 

Across the state, 538 state roadways are closed. This does not include local road closures. Displaced families are staying in the 52 open state shelters; 45 households are sheltering in state parks, 10 are in hotels and 79 are staying in temporary housing units. 

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com.

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