Written by Mark Payne, LINK nky politics and government reporter
Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency ahead of Thursday and Friday’s winter storm that is expected to impact most of the state.
“Beginning tomorrow morning, Kentucky is going to experience what we believe a severe weather event that is going to be dangerous to extremely dangerous to most of the residents of the state,” Beshear said. “We are looking at an ice storm that may make travel difficult to impossible.”
In the maps, Northern Kentucky has the potential to get hit especially hard with the potential for over a half-inch of ice.
Stay with our news partner, WCPO 9, for the latest forecast.
Travel conditions are expected to be treacherous with Beshear, along with Kentucky Transportation Secretary Jim Gray, Director of Kentucky Emergency Management Michael Dossett, and Adjutant General of Kentucky Maj. Gen. Haldane Lamberton, urging people to stay off the roads.
“Folks, this is going to be an epic event,” Dossett said, who said this storm might top the ice storm in February of last year with this storm that predicted to produce a quarter to three-quarters of an inch of ice. “Trees and power lines can’t sustain the weight of that much ice.”
With the potential for downed power lines comes the potential for the loss of power. Beshear also warned those who might have to use generators to use them properly, as in the past people might put them inside or too close to their homes.
“If everything holds to where it is right now, this is the real deal,” Beshear said. “It is dangerous. People need to be prepared, and need to be prepared to stay off the roads tomorrow, and be ready to deal with this emergency for the next several days.”
The storm begins with ice, then turns to freezing rain, with snow on top. One of the major issues is that the roads can’t be pretreated with brine and rock salt, as the rain can wash it away.
“The rain prevents our ability to pretreat roadways with brine or rock salt,” Gray said. The freezing rain and ice do more than just make roads slick. It carries the danger of downed trees and power lines on roadways that create additional hazards.”
Gov. Beshear also placed an executive order that prevents price gouging on crucial goods such as food, gasoline, and household items during an emergency. Beshear also announced that he would close all state offices ahead of the storm.
“This order activates state laws that prohibit gouging, Beshear said.
Get the latest information on the storms at snowky.ky.gov.