Kentucky state legislature calls off Monday session as ice pelts Central KY
With snow, ice and sleet covering many Kentucky roads, the Kentucky General Assembly announced that it will not convene as-scheduled for its legislative session day Monday.
The Legislative Research Commission, the administrative arm of the state legislature, made the announcement in a social media post Sunday afternoon.
“Due to inclement weather, the Kentucky General Assembly will not convene on Monday, Jan. 26. The legislature is scheduled to reconvene Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 4 p.m. The Capitol Annex will be closed Monday, but most LRC employees will be teleworking,” the post reads.
Many lawmakers travel from far-flung parts of the state to arrive in Frankfort on Monday. Those routes could prove tricky for several hours, as snow and ice have already blanketed much of the state well into day two of Winter Storm Fern.
This situation is especially dangerous, forecasters warn, as Sunday’s precipitation adds a slick layer to ice and snow that fell Saturday and overnight, solidified by frigid temperatures.
The National Weather Service expects ice totals in Central Kentucky are around a quarter-inch to a half-inch. Sunday’s high temperature in Lexington is forecast at 27 degrees, with an overnight low around 5 degrees and wind chill of -4.
“Additional snow and sleet accumulations up to 7 inches are expected across southern Indiana and north central Kentucky. The higher of these values are expected across parts of southern Indiana, where less sleet is expected,” the NWS said in a Sunday morning winter storm warning update. “Along and southeast of the Western Kentucky and Bluegrass Parkways, ice accumulations from a glaze to half of an inch is expected.”
The legislature is not the only institution closing down during the storm.
Flights were not coming in or out of Blue Grass Airport Sunday, Fayette Mall closed its doors, Lexington city offices will be closed Monday and scores of churches cancelled weekend services.
The legislature was not clear in its post on how the lost legislative day would be made up, if at all.
This story will be updated.
