By JANIE SLAVEN<br>Record Staff Writer
WHITLEY CITY — Though McCreary County escaped much of the havoc wreaked by heavy snow in Eastern Kentucky and along the Atlantic seaboard, Friday evening still proved a nightmare for local travelers.
Dangerous conditions in the wake of major winter storms in Central and Eastern Kentucky led Gov. Steve Beshear to declare a State of Emergency Saturday morning, enabling the mobilization of state resources to assist impacted communities. The heavy snow resulted in broken trees, road closures, stranded motorists, flooding, public and private property damage and power outages to approximately 106,000 customers. Weather
radar indicates potential localized snowfall amounts of up to 16 inches.
McCreary County averaged five inches of snow along with 1.4 inches of rain.
“If all the rain had been snow, it would have totaled 14 inches,” McCreary County Emergency Management Director Rudy Young stated.
As it was, weather conditions caused more than 20 minor vehicle accidents into Friday night as well as several school buses stranded throughout the county.
One accident involving an 18-wheeler blocked the East Ky. 92/Ky. 1470 intersection for over three hours.
“We had over 3,800 customers county-wide out of electric Friday afternoon,” Young reported, adding that the number had been whittled down to 10 South Kentucky RECC customers and 20 Cumberland Valley RECC customers (along 3C Road) by Sunday.
Though much of the damage had been done Friday night, additional light snow and freezing rain over Saturday night brought down several trees on KY 1044, KY 896 and Mill Creek.
More severe damage was seen in Letcher, Pike and Perry counties — where Gov. Beshear visited this weekend.
“Though we often wish for a white Christmas, in reality these storms can put Kentuckians in danger, and my administration is marshalling
all its resources to address the needs of those impacted,” he stated.
The Kentucky Division of Emergency Management (KYEM) and the Commonwealth Emergency Operations Center (CEOC), located in Frankfort, remain activated at a heightened level of alert, with additional staffing throughout the day and night. The CEOC will activate to a higher level if
necessary. KYEM continues to maintain situational awareness and communications with KYEM Regional Response Managers, Department of Transportation Operation Center, Kentucky State Police and the Office of Gov. Beshear.
Road conditions throughout the state can be found on the Kentucky Department of Transportation’s Web site at www.511.ky.gov, or by
calling 511 in Kentucky or 1-866-737-3767 for out-of-state callers.
Additional information and winter safety tips, including winter driving tips, can be found on the KYEM web site at www.kyem.ky.gov. Winter weather warnings and advisories as well as county weather information can be found at www.weather.gov.
