Tornado damages businesses in Jeffersontown, Middletown. See who was affected by Kentucky storms

Residents and businesses are still recovering from a Wednesday night tornado in the Jeffersontown and Middletown areas.

The tornado touched down in Jefferson County and passed through the Interstate 64 and Interstate 265 interchange with several area establishments seeing damage, including a partial building collapse on Ampere Drive in east Jeffersontown and those reported in East Jefferson County in the Beckley Hills subdivision with downed trees and damage to roofs and windows.

Half a dozen businesses, including a daycare, sustained high-speed winds that knocked in garage doors, tore apart metal roofs and spread insulation in trees and across parking lots.

Jefferstown Fire Department Major Darin Nation and a fire engine crew were on their second round of surveys midmorning Thursday, saying businesses from Blankenbaker Parkway to Tucker Station Road sustained damage and buildings off Technology Drive and Ampere Drive were flattened.

Here’s what we know about the impacts Thursday.

Tornado rips roof off of daycare off Plantside Drive

His Kids Academy, a daycare at 1920 Campus Place in Jeffersontown, was destroyed by the storm. The two-story building’s roof had become the open sky. Windows on the second floor of the business, owned by Bill and Jenny Warren, were no longer made of glass.

Businesses off Plantside Drive and Campus Place damaged

Warren Technology, a woman-owned technology networking business, that has been in its location in Jeffersontown off Plantside Drive and Campus Place since 1999, was one of several businesses in a strip of offices that also no longer had a roof. Others include JSO Wood Product, Ogle Equipment Sales, KME Maintenance and Electric and Woodstone Reality.

Papa Johns headquarters sustains damage in Jeffersontown

Workers were installing plywood to multiple windows of the Papa Johns Headquarters in Jeffersontown Thursday after the building sustained minor damage in Wednesday’s storms.

The campus, which extends from Campus Place to Tucker Station, also had property damage throughout, including a twisted fence along its western border and uprooted trees to the south. At least one tractor trailer was overturned and a piece of metal roof was on the ground near Papa Johns Boulevard.

J&J Transportation in Jeffersontown suffered significant property damage

The strong line of storms that spawned a tornado in the area Wednesday destroyed most of J&J Transportation’s property at the corner of Plantside Drive and Blankenbaker Road in Jeffersontown.

Owner Tim Meagher said he believes at least 10 tractors and trailers on his property were damaged during the storm, though more damage was sustained by the main building.

“I mean, probably over half the building is torn up,” he said.

Meagher is still assessing the impact, but his company is still attempting to fulfill work orders from customers despite the destruction.

Meagher said the business will remain open as cleanup continues.

Louisville remains under flood watch. See rainfall totals from Wednesday

A flood watch remains in effect from Thursday until Sunday morning after heavy rains hammered the Midwest and Louisville area. Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Louisville issued a hazardous weather outlook for portions of southern Indiana and central Kentucky, saying rounds of additional showers will be possible Thursday into Friday night.

Some storms may be strong to severe, according to NWS, with damaging winds and isolated tornadoes possible.

NWS meteorologist Mark Jarvis said Wednesday’s rainfall totals were the following:

• 1.59″ rainfall at NWS office in Louisville

• 1.02″ Louisville International Airport

About 3,500 LG&E customers without power

About 3,500 LG&E and KU customers were without power early Thursday morning after severe weather swept across the commonwealth Wednesday night, LG&E and KU spokesperson Liz Pratt said.

Pratt said in total, about 30,000 customers were impacted beginning Wednesday afternoon and there were just over 200 reports of downed wires. Most of the outages were concentrated to east and southeast Jefferson County with some stretching east toward other commonwealth cities. Customers can get the latest information on outages in their area by visiting the LG&E website or using the company’s mobile app.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky tornado damage: See business impact in Jeffersontown, Middletown