U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Emergency Management Agency Regional Administrator Gracia Szczech will join Beshear and Kentucky Emergency Management Director Michael Dossett in Mayfield for an update on the response to tornado damage across the commonwealth.
The Sunday news conference is set for 3:15 p.m. CST at the Graves County Emergency Operations Center in Mayfield, according to the governor's office.
As rescue and recovery operations continue Sunday in numerous western counties, Kentucky State Police said "citizens who are not actively involved in rescue operations or emergency services are encouraged to avoid travel to and around the affected areas."
"With widespread power outages, traffic control devices are not operational and there is no available lighting at many intersections throughout the area creating a serious hazard," a state police news release said.
As an example of the dangerous conditions on some roads, the post said its collision reconstruction team was investigating a "serious injury" crash involving three vehicles that occurred about 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of U.S. Highway 641 and Kentucky Route 80 in Calloway County
"While Calloway County did not see as severe storm damage as neighboring Graves and Marshall Counties saw, the widespread power outage is a concern," the state police post said.
The post said it is also "receiving an overwhelming number of calls from citizens wishing to help.
"Those wishing to volunteer are asked to call (270) 331-1979," the KSP post said. "Those wishing to offer donations are asked to call (270) 297-7772 or (270) 331-0945. Please reserve Kentucky State Police, Post 1 phone lines and 911 lines for those needing assistance."
On Sunday, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman will join local officials in Muhlenberg and Ohio counties at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively, to survey storm damage and speak with reporters.
How to get help, and how to help Kentucky communities
Numerous resources are available for those impacted by the tornadoes. See this story to learn more.
Tornado recovery: Was your home damaged in the Kentucky tornadoes? Here's how to get help
And handfuls of nonprofits, relief funds and community members have started collecting donations for Kentuckians who have lost their homes and so much more in the storms.
Check out this story to find ways you can help.
More: Want to help Kentucky communities affected by the tornadoes? Here's how
As of Sunday morning, Beshear said a state relief fund has received 7,479 donations totaling $829,085.
What happened Saturday?
The quartet of tornadoes that tore through Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky from late Friday into early Saturday left a devastating path of destruction.
Gov. Andy Beshear said over 70 people in Kentucky have likely died, with the governor adding the death toll could possibly end up exceeding 100. That would be the deadliest tornado event in the state's history.
The storm leveled much of Mayfield , destroyed part of Dawson Springs and wiped out buildings in Bowling Green and other towns, with deaths reported in those communities and at least a dozen fatalities also reported in the small Muhlenberg County town of Bremen.
Mayfield candle plant collapse: What to know about the Kentucky plant that a tornado decimated with workers inside
In Graves County, Beshear said at least a dozen workers at a Mayfield candle factory were feared dead after a roof collapse Friday night, and rescue teams were continuing to search the rubble for bodies and any survivors.
Beshear said "it may end up being the largest loss of life in any tornado event in a single location in the state's history," with about 110 people inside the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory when it collapsed and about 40 rescued early Saturday.
President Joe Biden also approved Beshear's request for an emergency disaster declaration , with Biden ordering federal assistance to supplement state and local responses to the severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding and tornadoes.
What was the size of the biggest Kentucky tornado? How long was its path?
For the category of the biggest tornado, the National Weather Service office in Paducah tweeted Saturday it would likely "take some time to make a determination on intensity / rating."
But the weather service said damage appeared to be consistent with an F3 tornado capable of producing winds as strong as 206 mph.
The Paducah office also said an aerial assessment of damage appeared to show an "historic long track tornado" that was at least three-quarters of a mile wide in Kentucky as it went from southwest of Cayce in Fulton County to at least Beaver Dam in Ohio County.
The storm traveled over 220 miles from Arkansas into Kentucky, also causing damage in Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee.
