Governor Beshear has declared a State of Emergency due to the winter weather and freezing conditions across Kentucky. Roads are treacherous due to snow and ice and temperatures are too cold for standard treatment methods to act quickly.
During a press conference Monday afternoon, the governor said Kentuckians are not out of the woods yet, with wind chill throughout the day falling between 5 degrees and 5 degrees below zero in areas.
“Then Wednesday morning, even colder than that, heating up Wednesday afternoon, probably getting above freezing on Thursday, but again, we have a chance for another snow system right after this one.”
The governor said the state of emergency makes it easier for government entities to work together such as the state transportation department, Kentucky Emergency Management, and the emergency declaration brings the Kentucky National Guard in to help. During a press conference Monday afternoon, Major General Hal Lamberton said it takes a lot of work with a lot of people to come through severe weather scenarios.
“Your Kentucky National Guard are working with our partners in the Department of Transportation, Kentucky Emergency Management Department, also the troopers from the KSP, the Kentucky State Police, because it takes that kind of collaborative effort to bring everybody together.”
Temperatures are expected to get into the single digits in some areas this evening, with the wind chill possibly going below zero. Temperatures are expected to rise some on Wednesday but more winter weather is possible on Thursday.
The most severe weather is expected in southeast Kentucky, east of Interstate-75 and south of Interstate-64.
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