Christian County is bracing for more frigid temperatures and ice accumulation Sunday afternoon on top of 3 to 4 inches of snow that fell Saturday.
The National Weather Service issued an ice storm warning for Christian, Todd, Trigg, Muhlenberg and Calloway counties until 6 p.m. Sunday, and local officials urged residents to stay off the roads.
“The ice storm is here, and road conditions across Christian County are extremely slick and getting worse,” the Christian County Sheriff’s Office wrote shortly after 10 a.m. Sunday in a Facebook post. “Especially in rural areas, back roads, bridges, and overpasses. We strongly urge residents to stay home unless travel is absolutely necessary. Even short trips can quickly become dangerous.”
Ice accumulation raises concerns about power outages. Pennyrile Electric published a graphic illustrating how the risk of tree limbs and power lines breaking increases as ice accumulates on surfaces. A quarter inch of ice is “disruptive” with the possibility of isolated power outages while 1 inch is considered “devastating” with long power outages likely.
Wind is also a concern. According to the Christian County Mesonet site, Hopkinsville experienced wind speeds as high as 27 to 29 mph over the weekend.
On Saturday, Hopkinsville and most areas of Christian County reported 3 to 4 inches of snow — much less than the heavy snowfall that forecasters said was possible. Areas to the north saw more snow.
“Very heavy snow has occurred roughly from Cape Girardeau to Evansville and points north where reports of over a foot of snow have been received. A band of very heavy sleet occurred overnight from about Poplar Bluff to Paducah to Madisonville, and icing has occurred south of there,” the NWS office at Paducah reported early Sunday. “Travel is extremely dangerous and may be impossible in many locations. Light to moderate snow will continue in most of the area through midday.”
The NWS forecast for Hopkinsville indicates an overnight low of 2 degrees Sunday. The high on Monday will be around 16 degrees, and the overnight low will be 1 degree below zero.
Most churches canceled in-person worship, and many businesses closed for the weekend.
Christian County Public Schools will be closed through Wednesday, and all school activities and ballgames are canceled.
Find a listing of local cancellations and closures here.
To report an outage
- Hopkinsville Electric customers may call 270-564-7250
- Pennyrile Electric customers may call 270-886-2555.
If you need a warm place to stay
The Hopkinsville Salvation Army will provide emergency shelter to anyone needing a warm place at overnight. The Extreme Weather Event Shelter — also known as EWE, will be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. at 701 S. Clay St. The EWE shelter is open any night when the temperature or wind chill is forecast to be less than 25 degrees.
The First Baptist Church Christian Life Center, 1603 S. Main St., will be open as a warming station from 4 p.m. Saturday until noon Monday, the church announced in a Facebook post.
Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park is among several state park facilities open 24-hours a day as warming center.
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.
