Allen, Barren, Clay, Clinton, Cumberland, Jackson, Laurel, Lee, McCreary, Menifee, Metcalfe, Monroe, Owsley, Pulaski, Rockcastle, Russell, Wayne and Whitley counties were approved for public assistance, Beshear said.
FEMA’s public assistance program provides grants to governments for recovery efforts from major disasters or emergencies. Certain types of private nonprofit organizations are also eligible for public assistance.
January’s major winter storm, which took place from Jan. 24-26, left behind anywhere from 6 to 13 inches of snow across southern Indiana and Northern Kentucky, and ice accumulations between 0.2 and 0.8 inches across much of central and Eastern Kentucky, according to the National Weather Service. Every county in Kentucky was put under a winter storm warning during the storm, and 109 counties declared a state of emergency.
More than 20 people died from impacts of the storm, including a 32-year-old woman in Lexington. Victims from the winter weather died from hypothermia, falling on ice, heart attacks while shoveling snow and being trapped inside house fires.
Lexington received around 4 to 5 inches of snow and a half-inch of ice accumulation from the storm, according to the NWS. Lexington struggled to keep streets clear following the storm, causing frustration among city residents and causing Fayette County Public Schools to cancel in-person classes for two weeks.
Public criticism over the response led to big changes in Mayor Linda Gorton’s administration. Her commissioner of environmental services, Nancy Albright, resigned after a March flash freeze event, and Gorton has promised to “tear up” the city’s existing winter weather plan.
The city identified six key problems with its winter weather plan. Gorton said the administration will take further steps to prepare for future winter weather events.
Gorton also invested $5.1 million in new trucks, additional salt and beet heat, overtime for city drivers and new contracts with companies to help in weather emergencies in her proposed $546 million spending plan for the upcoming year. That’s an additional $2 million compared to last year’s $3.1 million investment.
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