Team Kentucky prepares for impending winter storm

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Ahead of severe winter weather beginning late Friday night and continuing through Sunday, Gov. Andy Beshear today announced proactive steps being taken by Team Kentucky to treat roadways, create shelter options and warming centers, and more. The National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts show statewide impacts, with snow accumulations of as much as 8 inches and the possibility of sleet and ice. Dangerously cold temperatures are expected to continue into next week.

“Kentucky, we are facing some severe winter weather this weekend, and we are doing everything possible to prepare ahead and have options in place to keep Kentuckians safe,” said Gov. Beshear. “We are asking everyone to take this winter weather event seriously by having weather alerts turned on and phones charged and by avoiding travel if possible. Let’s do whatever we can to keep our people safe this weekend.”

In preparation of the weather event, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), Kentucky State Parks and Kentucky Emergency Management (KYEM) are implementing steps to treat roadways and offer assistance to Kentuckians as needed.

KYTC Snowfighters
Preliminary transportation activities now taking place throughout the state include:

• Road crews pretreating roadways across districts, as conditions allow.

• KYTC communicating with partner agencies regarding potential resource requests.

• KYTC Division of Equipment is actively taking inventory of resources, including heavy equipment, to make sure they’re ready and available.

• All highway districts actively preparing equipment.

• KYTC communicating and coordinating with the Tennessee Department of Transportation in case either state should experience closures of interstate corridors in order to place messages on overhead message signs alerting the travelling public.

• KYTC maintaining most roads, streets and bridges that are part of the state highway system, including interstates, parkways and U.S. route designations. The cabinet operates on a four-tier priority system to keep people and commerce moving in the most effective way possible.

Kentuckians are encouraged to avoid unnecessary travel and to check snowky.ky.gov for road conditions. For more information, read the full press release from KYTC.

Kentucky State Parks
Kentucky State Parks are actively preparing for the winter storm and have designated resort and recreational parks as warming stations. In the event of power outages, state parks are ready to provide temporary shelter to those in need. To assist Kentuckians in locating available warming stations, the Department of Parks has created a webpage with real-time updates at parks.ky.gov/inclement-weather.

The following locations are serving as warming stations:

• Convention Center at Jenny Wiley State Resort Park (Prestonsburg)

• Visitor Center at My Old Kentucky Home State Park (Bardstown)

• Convention Center at General Butler State Resort Park (Carrollton)

• Sawyer Hayes Convention Center at EP Tom Sawyer State Park (Louisville)

• Convention Center at Columbus Belmont State Park (Columbus)

• Woodland Center at Natural Bridge State Resort Park (Slade)

• Barren River Lake State Resort Park (Lucas)

• Carter Caves State Resort Park (Olive Hill)

• Greenbo Lake State Resort Park (Greenup)

• Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park (Carlisle)

Kentucky State Parks urges anyone traveling to our state parks to exercise caution, as park conditions may also be impacted by the inclement weather.

Kentucky Emergency Management
The Emergency Operations Center will activate at a Level 3 (KYEM staff and certain ESF partners) at 7 a.m. Saturday.

KYEM is pre-positioning water in anticipation of water system failures and working with counties to update warming center locations and assist with any needs they may have.

For a list of shelter and warming centers across the state, visit the online map.

For preparedness tips, visit kyem.ky.gov.

In a separate press release this morning, KYTC said it was mobilizing resources and pretreating roads where possible ahead of a forecast winter storm that could create snowy and potentially hazardous conditions for travel across the state this weekend. Kentuckians are encouraged to prepare now, avoid non-essential travel and exercise caution on the roads by slowing down and driving distraction-free. 

“We are facing some serious winter weather this weekend that will impact roadways, and Team Kentucky state highway crews are working hard to keep our roads as safe as possible for Kentuckians,” said Beshear. “The same way state highway crews have their plans in place, I want to encourage every Kentuckian to do the same by monitoring the weather, avoiding unnecessary travel and packing an emergency car kit.” 

National Weather Service forecasts show that widespread snow is possible across the state, with increased potential for icing across southern Kentucky raising the risk of slick roads and power disruptions. Temperatures well below freezing statewide are expected this weekend with single digit temperatures and sub-zero wind chills forecast into early next week.  

KYTC highway crews are monitoring forecasts, preparing to deploy nearly 1,500 state-owned and contracted plow trucks, and ready to tap into their stockpile of 311,000 tons of salt and over 1 million gallons of brine for anti-icing efforts.  

“During winter storms, particularly when arctic temperatures are possible, our priority is safety,” said KYTC Secretary Jim Gray. “Crews will work to keep state highways passable and ensure access for emergency personal responding to downed power lines or other issues.”  

Preliminary transportation activities now taking place throughout the state include: 

• Pretreatment of roadways across districts, as conditions allow. 

• Statewide KYTC communication with Kentucky Emergency Management, Kentucky State Police, forestry officials and other partner agencies for potential resource requests.  

• KYTC Division of Equipment actively inventorying resources, including graders and other heavy equipment, to make sure they're ready and available depending on the upcoming weather forecast.  

• All highway districts and crews in each county actively preparing equipment and resources for the upcoming weather event.  

• A briefing with KYTC staff and the National Weather Service held Thursday morning to discuss forecasts and anticipated impacts.  

• Communicating and coordinating with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) in case either state should experience closures of Interstate corridors in order to place messages on overhead message signs alerting the traveling public.  

• Maintaining most roads, streets and bridges that are part of the state highway system, including interstates, parkways and U.S. route designations, KYTC operates on a four-tier priority system to keep people and commerce moving in the most effective way possible. 

Road Safety and Preparation Tips for Kentuckians    
Kentucky drivers are valuable partners in ensuring highway safety, especially during severe weather events. KYTC encourages Kentuckians to monitor forecasts, avoid unnecessary travel when possible, pack an emergency car kit and, if you must travel during the storm, check your route before you go at GoKY.ky.gov. For your safety, make sure to take it slow and know what to do if power lines are down or signals aren’t working. 

Emergency Car Kit Suggested Items for Drivers 

• First aid kit 

• Extra coat, gloves, and blankets or sleeping bag 

• Non-perishable food and water 

• Baby formula, diapers, wipes 

• Flashlight with extra batteries 

• Portable phone chargers 

• Pet food, water, leash, bowl 

• Medications 

• Ice scraper and jumper cables 

• Shovel, and a bag of sand or litter 

What To Do if Traffic Signals Are Not Working: 

• Flashing yellow, proceed with caution 

• Flashing red, treat as a stop sign 

• No signal lights, treat as a 4-way stop 

What To Do When a Downed Power Line Is on the Roadway: 

• Never touch or drive over a fallen power line; report the issue to the power company. 

• If a power line has fallen on your vehicle, STAY INSIDE, do not exit, and call 911. 

• Assume all downed power lines are live and DO NOT attempt to move. 

Visit snowky.ky.gov for snow and ice resources, like priority route maps, traffic cameras, tips and highway district updates.