This morning, Governor Andy Beshear signed a declaration of a state of emergency in response to the heavy ice and snow storms seen by much of Central and Northern Kentucky.
As a result of the declaration, Kentucky Division of Emergency Management and the Department of Military Affairs are authorized to execute the Kentucky emergency operations plan and coordinate the response across state agencies and private relief groups.
The declaration also directs the finance and administrative Cabinet to provide the funding for the response and authorizes the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management to request additional resources.
Gov. Beshear stated that the State of Emergency Operations Center remains activated at Level 3 operations, which consist of KYEM personnel monitoring the weather system along with critical emergency support function partners for transportation, law enforcement, power, and utilities.
Governor Beshear says KYEM has been informed of more than 70,000 Kentucky customers are dealing with outages.
Multiple crashes and intermittent closures on interstates, parkways and major routes across the state have occurred since last night into this morning due to icy roads, and downed trees and power lines. Transportation crews aggressively treated roads throughout the night as breaks in the weather allowed. Widespread reports of downed trees and limbs have been reported, with the most impact in Central and Eastern Kentucky. Partners, including the Kentucky Division of Forestry, are helping with tree removal.
“Our crews worked overnight and are out in full force treating and plowing to maintain mobility along critical routes,” said Transportation Secretary Jim Gray. “The damaging effects of fallen debris and frigid temperatures create additional challenges and delays. It’s going to take days to recover from this event. We plead for the patience of the public and ask for their help by staying off the roads if possible.”
As of 10 a.m. today, the westbound lanes of Interstate Highway 24 in Christian County were closed at mile marker 81. Kentuckians are encouraged to visit snowky.ky.gov for travel information and links to follow social media pages for transportation updates.
Earlier Thursday morning, Gov. Beshear closed all state offices for the day to reduce traffic on perilous roadways.
Yesterday, the Governor said the Kentucky Division of Emergency Management activated its State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) to monitor the storm system and coordinate with critical Emergency Support Function partners in transportation, law enforcement, power and utilities. The SEOC remains activated at Level 3.
Also on Wednesday, Gov. Beshear updated Kentuckians about preparations being made by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet; plans to address postponed vaccination appointments and safeguard vaccine supplies; and safety information on the use of alternative heat sources.
