The storm is expected to end Saturday morning after dumping more than a foot of snow in many places.
“My primary concern is safety,” Bevin said in a statement. “By declaring a state emergency, we are giving emergency management the options they need to proactively respond to local needs.”
The Kentucky National Guard had not been activated Friday afternoon, but guard spokesman Walt Leaumont said about 60 members are on standby to run tow trucks. He said most of them are in Madisonville, Glasgow, Elizabethtown and Bowling Green.
In Eastern Kentucky, snow totals could be historic, National Weather Service meteorologist Tony Edwards said.
“It’s going to be our biggest snowfall since the mid-’90s,” Edwards said.
The storm started its Kentucky path with freezing rain in the south before turning to snow as the system traveled north through the state, according to the National Weather Service offices in Louisville and Jackson.
Snow began falling about 7:30 a.m. in downtown Lexington, where most flights at Blue Grass Airport were canceled. Lexington police said about 3:30 p.m. that they had responded to two injury collisions, 31 non-injury collisions and 49 requests for motorist assistance since midnight.
Freezing rain began turning to sleet about 6 a.m. in the south, with moderate snow on the leading edge of the storm, . Just before 8 a.m., the heavy snow began to pick up, pelting parts of the state at a rate of 1 to 2 inches an hour.
Kentucky State Police posted on Twitter about 2:30 p.m. that multiple wrecks in Rockcastle County had closed all lanes of Interstate 75 for 12 miles between London and Mount Vernon. The estimated delay was two to four hours.
Albert Hale, emergency manager for Laurel County, said the interstate was blocked for several hours in north Laurel County and southern Rockcastle County because of large trucks that were unable to make it up hills or had slid off the road.
Hale estimated there were more than 500 vehicles stopped at various spots on the north and southbound sides of the interstate at mid-afternoon.
“The snow’s so deep the trucks can’t pull,” Hale said. “It’s a mess, buddy.”
Hale said authorities were working to bring in large wreckers to clear the impasses. The National Guard had been called to send wreckers, he said.
I-75 southbound 48mm
Kentucky has fared “fairly well” so far in the winter storm, a spokesman for the state’s emergency operations said about mid-morning Friday.
Buddy Rogers with Kentucky Emergency Management in Frankfort said icy conditions on roads were less severe than expected.
He said there was much icing in the state’s southern counties, primarily from Bowling Green to London, in early morning, but the freezing rain changed to snow.
“Fortunately, it’s been a calm morning,” he said, “but the snow is continuing and everyone is urged to avoid traveling if at all possible.”
The ice caused treacherous travel conditions and scattered power outages, the
“Ice is wreaking havoc,” South Kentucky Rural Electric Cooperative Corp. posted on Twitter.
South Kentucky RECC reported 5,900 customers were without power at 4:30 p.m. and Kentucky Utilities reported 697.
Kentucky Power, which has 175,000 customers in 20 counties in Eastern Kentucky, reported 247 customers without power in Leslie County at 4:30 p.m. The utility said nearly 160 workers from outside its service area are in Kentucky to assist with repairs. The additional workers from Alabama, Illinois, Ohio and South Carolina will be working from staging locations in Ashland, Hazard and Pikeville. Requests also have been made for up to 360 additional crews, which are expected to begin arriving on Saturday.
In Pikeville, officials reported at 6:30 a.m. Friday that ice and heavy snow already were pounding much of Floyd, Letcher, Knott and Pike counties.
In Perry County, Judge-Executive Scott Alexander declared a local state of emergency because of poor road conditions. Alexander warned people to stay off the road.
Bobby Johnson, emergency manager in Floyd County, said road crews were hard-pressed to keep ahead of the snowfall.
“The snow’s just faster than the trucks,” he said.
The local forecast was for five to eight inches of new snow Friday; by noon, there was seven or eight inches on the ground, with more falling.
“The more snow we get, the heavier the trees will get,” meaning more potential for limbs to snap and knock down power lines, Johnson said.
The majority of flights to and from Blue Grass Airport were canceled Friday.
Lexington residents were asked Thursday by the city to avoid parking along emergency routes, marked by street signs.
The city opened all downtown city-owned parking garages, including Helix, Transit Center, Courthouse and Victorian Square, for free use until noon Sunday.
Herald-Leader reporters Michael McKay, Jack Brammer, Bill Estep and Beth Musgrave contributed to this story.
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