State snowfighters in northeast Kentucky will sharpen plow blades, load trucks with salt, and be ready to roll by Thursday night.
Those preparations come after Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency today ahead of an arctic storm front that’s expected to bring a flash freeze, several inches of snow, and below-zero temperatures to much of the commonwealth through the holiday weekend.
The National Weather Service says rain will transition to snow west to east Thursday afternoon as temps plummet past freezing. Icy conditions and snow could affect travel in northeast Kentucky by or before midnight.
State highway crews will report for duty at 8 p.m. Thursday in Bath, Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Fleming, Greenup, Lewis, Mason, Nicholas, and Rowan counties.
Crew leaders will monitor conditions closely and will have salt and plow trucks on the road patrolling as temperatures drop.
Snowfighters will remain out in force salting roadways and plowing snow throughout the storm, but high winds could quickly re-cover roads and flash freezing will create hazardous driving conditions – even while snow plows are on the road. Travel is not advised Thursday night through Friday.
The front is also expected to produce wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph on Friday and wind chills could reach minus 10 to minus 26 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday. In addition to hazardous travel, other storm impacts may include broken waterlines, power outages and damage to public infrastructure and private properties.
Motorists should plan ahead, watch forecasts to remain weather aware, and remember roads likely will not be clear until after the storm passes.
Please stay home, or travel before the storm hits. If you must be on the roads during the storm, slow down, buckle up, leave a “space cushion” between vehicles for safe maneuverability, and give yourself extra travel time to arrive safely.
Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray said that a fleet of 1,365 state-owned and contracted plow trucks are available to be deployed across Kentucky. The cabinet has stockpiled over 300,000 tons of salt, nearly 1 million gallons of brine for anti-icing efforts and more than 1 million gallons of calcium chloride, an additive to salt for deicing.
“Our forces are prepped with stocked supplies and equipment to respond to winter weather threats and they will be on alert through the holiday weekend,” said Secretary Gray. “With high winds, downed trees are possible, so they’re prepared to help clear roads of debris. Safe roads take everyone’s cooperation, so I urge Kentuckians to stay weather alert by monitoring weather forecasts, checking traffic on a navigational app like WAZE or goky.ky.gov, altering travel plans to avoid driving when conditions are at their worst, and giving yourself plenty of time to get to your destination.”
During winter storm operations, Kentucky Department of Highways District 9 works 12-hour shifts using more than 75 snow plows and other equipment to keep 2,000 miles of northeast Kentucky state highways passable. You can learn more about Kentucky Transportation Cabinet snow removal efforts, and view snow removal priority routes, online at http://SnowKY.ky.gov.
For real-time traffic information or to keep up with snowfighters in your county, visit http://GoKY.ky.gov. Follow District 9 updates on Twitter and Facebook at http://twitter.com/KYTCDistrict9 or http://facebook.com/KYTCDistrict9.