3 deaths in Kentucky confirmed because of severe winter weather, Gov. Beshear says
Three people have died because of extreme winter weather in Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a briefing Friday morning.
One person died in a car accident in Western Kentucky and another person without housing died in Louisville, Beshear said. A third fatality caused by road conditions was confirmed later Friday morning, Beshear tweeted. An arctic front brought extreme cold across the state on Friday, with wind chill warnings issued across the state and temperatures in the single digits.
Wind chill temperatures dipped heavily into the negatives Friday morning, with some areas of the state reporting wind chill temperatures of -30 degrees or lower, according to the National Weather Service.
“It’s been a long 12 months with the weather that’s come at us,” Beshear said. “We lost 81 in the tornadoes, 44 in floods, two thus far in this arctic front. Let’s not lose one more.”
In a press conference on Friday morning, Beshear encouraged people to stay home. There have been several accidents and traffic backups. With temperatures remaining low and high wind speeds, there is still potential for white-out conditions.
“Please stay home, stay safe, stay off the roads, stay alive,” Beshear said.
Transportation crews worked through the night to treat and clear roads, and will continue to do so throughout the day Friday, Secretary of Transportation Jim Gray said. If Kentucky residents stay off the roads today, that will allow crews to continue working, Gray said.
“Please continue to stay off the roads unless it is absolutely essential,” Gray said. “We are still in this storm. We’ve still got potential for white-out conditions, we’ve still got (traffic) back-ups.”
Lexington police officers responded to dozens of traffic incidents Thursday night into Friday morning, including one injury accident. But no serious injuries were suffered, according to Lexington officials.
The hazardous weather caused traffic problems on multiple interstates in Kentucky, according to Kentucky State Police. It also caused more than 20,000 power outages across the state, according to poweroutage.us. Those outages were being reduced by Friday afternoon.
In addition to the cold temperatures, some parts of Kentucky reported snow of 4 inches or more, according to preliminary reports from the NWS in Louisville. Lexington had approximately 1.5 inches of snow.
This story was originally published December 23, 2022 at 10:45 AM with the headline "3 deaths in Kentucky confirmed because of severe winter weather, Gov. Beshear says."