Western Kentucky residents should prepare for hazardous driving conditions Monday as a major winter storm is expected to produce 6 to 12 inches of snow, local and state officials and the National Weather Service warned.
Chris Noles, lead forecaster in the Paducah office of the NWS, said, “The point is … the entire area has a probability of eight or more inches. That’s what matters. With the drier snow that’s anticipated, I think blowing and drifting snow is a definite concern.”
Noles said driving will be “treacherous,” WKMS reported Sunday.
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Hopkinsville and surrounding areas can expect 1 to 3 inches late Sunday, followed by increased intensity late Monday morning. The region is under a winter storm warning from 6 p.m. Sunday through 6 a.m. Tuesday.
City road crews will begin running snow plows at 5 a.m. Monday, Hopkinsville Public Works officials said in a Facebook post.
Temperatures will affect how local and state road crews deal with the storm. The NWS forecast indicates a low of 11 degrees both Monday and Tuesday nights.
“Salt application will only be done if weather and road conditions permit,” Hopkinsville Public Works said. “At 20 (degrees), salt becomes less effective at snow melt, so it will be important for our crews to prevent accumulation on streets.”
State crews will focus on Priority A routes, which are interstates, U.S. highways and main roads between counties and to hospitals, said Keirsten Jaggers, the District 2 spokeswoman for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. (This maps shows Priority A, B and C routes in Christian County.)
Many government offices and schools were already scheduled to be closed Monday for the Presidents Day.
The Kentucky General Assembly will not be in session Tuesday because of the storm prediction but lawmakers are expected to be in session Wednesday, the Legislative Research Commission announced.
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.
