New winter storm warning for much of Kentucky; Boyd County woman dies of hypothermia
As ice, snow and power outages from the last winter storm are still affecting much of the state, the National Weather Service’s Louisville office issued another winter storm warning early Wednesday morning.
The warning, which includes parts of “south-central” and “east-central” Kentucky, was in effect from 7 p.m. Wednesday through 7 a.m. Friday, according to the weather service. This will be the third major winter storm in recent days.
This storm is expected to include “heavy mixed precipitation,” with between 3 and 5 inches of snow possible in some areas, with isolated higher totals, according to the warning. Ice accumulations amounting to “a light glaze” are also possible.
“Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute,” according to the warning.
Much of the eastern part of Kentucky was still without power from an ice storm that hit Monday night.
A 77-year-old Boyd County woman died Wednesday afternoon likely of hypothermia after going two days without power and heat, said Boyd County Coroner Mark Hammond.
The woman lived in an apartment complex and maintenance workers went to check on her and found her deceased, Hammond said.
Hammond strongly encouraged those still without power and heat to go to a warming station, overnight shelter or to someone’s house who has electricity and heat. It’s dangerous to go too long without heat with the temperatures dropping into the single digits overnight.
“We have a lot of people who are trying to stay in their home for a variety of reasons, because it’s their home or because of pets,” Hammond said. “The temperatures are down in the teens. We have warming stations and shelters set up for that reason. “
People with hypothermia often become sluggish and confused and don’t know when they need help, Hammond said.
“Nothing is worth losing your life,” Hammond wrote in a Facebook post encouraging Kentuckians without power to get to shelter.
Lexington conditions and preparations
The newest storm warning includes Fayette County, and Lexington’s division of Streets and Roads was working to treat roads in preparation for the next round of winter weather, according to the city.
Most main roads in Lexington were “passable” as of Wednesday, but caution should still be used on side streets, according to Streets and Roads.
“If you must be on the road today, remember to drive slowly, increase your following distance and allow extra time to reach your destination,” the division said in a news release.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the Lexington Fire Department had responded to 162 incidents over 24 hours, including four reports of possible carbon monoxide issues, four injury crashes and seven “slip and falls,” according to the city.
Waste collection in Lexington was canceled Wednesday and Thursday because of icy conditions. This also affected people whose trash was set to be picked up Wednesday as a make-up collection day for canceled pick up on Monday. A make-up day has not been set for garbage pick up . It has been suspended since Monday.
The city asked people to keep carts out of the roadways so the city storm plows can get through.
The University of Kentucky announced Wednesday morning that the COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Kroger Field was back in operation Wednesday after being closed Tuesday for inclement weather.
State briefing
In a briefing Wednesday, Gov. Andy Beshear said that vaccination centers were expected to stay open Thursday despite the forecast, but that people who can’t get to appointments safely can reschedule using a link in their confirmation emails.
It was sunny in some parts of the state Wednesday morning, and that was helping crews working to clear roads and repair power outages.
Michael Dossett, executive director of the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management, said during the briefing that electric workers in many cases were having to walk to areas with issues because downed trees and road conditions made it impossible to drive. Most companies have enough personnel and have assessed outages, but conditions are making repairs difficult, Dossett said.
The Kentucky National Guard was helping in several counties by transporting people to warming centers and assisting in debris removal, Dossett said.
Lingering power outages
Across the state, there were still 92,008 without power as of Wednesday afternoon, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks electricity outages. As of about 4 p.m. Tuesday there were 131,000 customers reportedly without power.
Kentucky Power, which serves several Eastern Kentucky counties, still had more than 41,544 customers without power as of Wednesday afternoon. In an update Tuesday night, the company warned that the next winter storm would further complicate efforts to get lights back on.
“If this third storm materializes as forecasted, additional damage to electrical facilities will likely occur as the wet snow or ice will stick to ice remaining on trees, further delaying restoration efforts. Kentucky Power customers will essentially incur three winter storms within one week without the temperature rising above freezing—that’s snow on top of ice on top of ice,” the company said in the update.
Conditions are already making it difficult to assess damage and make repairs, according to Kentucky Power. In a Wednesday morning update, the company reported that it was using trucks, drones and helicopters to assess problems. In some situations, crews have had to use heavy equipment to gain access to damaged lines. Between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, Kentucky Power found 102 broken utility poles and many downed wires.
South Kentucky RECC, which provides power to several Southern Kentucky counties, reported Wednesday that they still had about 9,000 customers without electricity.
“Crews are working diligently to restore power to our members, and they have done an excellent job,” RECC CEO Ken Simmons said in the update. “This was a major ice event for our area with widespread heavy damage, but they are working quickly and safely to get power to our members. However, forecasts are calling for more precipitation today and overnight. We are hopeful this will not be a setback, and we want to assure our members that we will continue working restoration until everyone has power. Again, I want to tell our members how much we appreciate their patience and kindness as we work to restore their power.”
Kentucky Electric Cooperatives, the statewide association that supports locally operated energy cooperatives, said in a release Wednesday that the damage to their systems could mean a prolonged outage.
“Given the immense restoration challenge, if you are currently without power, it is advisable to prepare for days without service, with the likelihood that it will take more than a week to restore power to all members,” said Chris Perry, president and CEO of Kentucky Electric Cooperatives.
Road conditions
While main roads were largely passable by Wednesday morning, some lesser traveled roads were still blocked by downed trees or power lines, Jim Gray, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray said during the Wednesday briefing.
Maintenance facilities for the department of highways were without power in Boyd, Floyd, Lawrence, Magoffin and Martin counties, Gray said. The outages meant gas pumps weren’t working and fuel was having to be brought in Tuesday so that equipment could operate.
Salt stores in places like Lexington, Jackson, Pikeville and Manchester were set to be replenished Wednesday with salt hauled from stockpile facilities in Jefferson County, Gray said.
This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 7:39 AM with the headline "New winter storm warning for much of Kentucky; Boyd County woman dies of hypothermia."
