Christian and surrounding counties are under another winter storm warning, effective from noon Wednesday until 6 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service at Paducah announced.
Snow is likely Wednesday afternoon and evening, followed by the possibility of a wintry mix during the day Thursday.
Areas close to the Tennessee border can expect the highest totals.
Overnight low temperatures could dip to 23 degrees Wednesday, 11 degrees Thursday and 7 degrees Friday, according to the extended forecast.
On Tuesday afternoon, the NWS issued a winter storm watch and noted: “This is a low-end watch at this time. There is still quite a bit of uncertainty regarding snowfall accumulations. Depending on the eventual track of the storm system, amounts will likely need to be adjusted with time.”
On Wednesday the weather service adjusted the prediction from a watch to a winter storm advisory, and later to a winter storm warning.
“As the event becomes imminent, a watch will normally be upgraded to either a warning or an advisory (which indicates an 80% or greater probability of occurtence),” the NWS describes in this website about watches, advisories and warnings.
The advisory comes on the heels of the first storm this week, which produced well below the predicted 6 to 12 inches of snow on Monday but still created hazardous driving conditions and prompted numerous closings and postponements.
The NWS said Hopkinsville had 3 to 5 inches of snow accumulation mixed with sleet from late Sunday through Monday evening.
“Sleet brought snowfall totals downward across areas along the Tennessee border and east of an Evansvllle to Madisonville line,” the Paducah office reported. “Due to extensive blowing and drifting, accurate snowfall amounts were difficult to obtain. In some cases, narrow bands of heavy snow resulted in sharp differences in storm-total snowfall across a small area.”
Driving conditions were still a concern late Tuesday. Numerous crashes on Interstate 24 in southern Christian County caused the interstate to be partially or fully closed at different times.
Weather-related cancellations, closures and openings include:
- Christian County Public Schools — no in-person instruction Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as public schools continue with NTI. Extracurricular activities and food services are canceled.
- Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library — closed Wednesday and Thursday.
- Hopkinsville YMCA — closed Wednesday.
- Thomas Street Recreation Center — closed Wednesday and Thursday.
- Planters Bank-Jennie Stuart Health Sportsplex — closed Wednesday and Thursday.
- Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County — closed through Saturday.
- Hopkinsville Community College — all classes will meet virtually through Friday, while campus offices are closed. Students may access virtual services online.
- Hopkinsville Water Environment Authority — main office and Forbes Building drive-thru lanes closed Wednesday. Customers can make payments by calling 270-887-4246 or online.
- Kentucky General Assembly — session in recess through Friday.
- City of Hopkinsville — non-essential offices closed until Monday, Feb. 22, with employees working from home when possible.
- Bruce Center vaccine clinic — reopening at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
- Christian County Health Department — reopening at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
This story will be updated as needed.
(Jennifer P. Brown is the editor and founder of Hoptown Chronicle. Reach her
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
