White Christmas leaves thousands without power in Eastern Kentucky
Gusty winds and snow that moved through Kentucky beginning Thursday left about 8,000 people without power in the eastern end of the state on Christmas morning.
Kentucky Power crews were working to restore power.
The storm dumped four to eight inches of snow in Eastern Kentucky and downed many wires, causing nearly 160 different outages, the utility said in a news release.
The snow was wet and heavier than forecast, “the type that can wreak havoc on electrical systems,” Kentucky Utilities said.
Many of the outages were in the Hazard area, with 5,000 customers without electricity in Perry, Leslie, Knott, Letcher and Breathitt counties.
Outages also occurred in Pike, Johnson, Floyd, Carter and Lawrence counties, according to Kentucky Power.
Kentucky Power said electricity had been restored to nearly 5,000 customers by late Friday afternoon, leaving about 3,000 still out of power.
Crews were expected to have power restored to 95 percent of the affected customers in the Pike Johnson and Floyd counties by late Saturday, and to 95 percent of customers in Perry, Knott, Leslie, Letcher and Breathitt counties by late Sunday.
This story was originally published December 25, 2020 at 4:53 PM.
