PADUCAH, KY (Feb. 10, 2021) Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) District 1 Snow & Ice Team has all crews out treating highways in anticipation of another round of freezing drizzle, freezing rain, and sleet expected to arrive over the region this afternoon and evening into Thursday morning.
The District 1 Super Tanker is spraying brine enhanced with calcium chloride along Interstate 24 and Interstate 69, today.
Freezing drizzle has moved from Missouri into Ballard County in the last hour.
Individual counties have the following to report:
| District 1 | |||
| Ballard | Treatment | Freezing Drizzle | 4 trucks out treating A & B routes. Air temp 29 |
| Calloway | Treatment | None | 5 trucks out treating bridges and overpasses |
| Carlisle | Treatment | None | 7 trucks out treating roadways. |
| Crittenden | Treatment | 5 trucks out treating potential trouble areas. | |
| Fulton | Treatment | None | 3 trucks out to spot treat bridges and trouble areas |
| Graves | Spot Treatment | None | No precipitation at this time. Treating bridges and overpasses |
| Hickman | Spot Treatment | Treating A routes — 5 trucks out. | |
| Livingston | Treatment | None | 5 trucks on road treating A routes then moving to B |
| Lyon | Treatment | None | all trucks out treating roads. |
| Marshall | Treatment | None | 10 trucks out at this time. treating A and B routs with pre-wet salt. Air temp. 28. . Road temp is 25 – 31. |
| McCracken | Treatment | None | 5 trucks out at this time. Treating potential trouble areas on I-24. Air temp. 27. |
| Trigg | Treatment | None | 5 vehicles out treating bridges. No precipitation at this time. |
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for much of the region in anticipation of several rounds of freezing rain and winter mix rolling across the region through Thursday. That will be followed by extreme cold temperatures through the weekend into next week.
Due to the likelihood of accumulating ice, The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is reminding motorists that travel may become hazardous. While ice accumulations are expected to be well below the ice storm of 2009, there will be plenty of opportunities for travel disruptions. The National Weather Service indicates about 70 to 80 percent chance of ½ inch of accumulating ice. As a comparison, the ice storm of 2009 was about an inch to 2 inches of ice.
The potential for damage to trees and power lines is significant. As a precaution, highway crews are checking chain saws and other tree-clearing equipment.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet crews have pretreated roadways and are continuing to spread salt and calcium chloride today. However, once the ice starts to accumulate, the ability to improve driving conditions will be limited. Extreme low temperatures into and through the weekend will severely limit the effectiveness of salt and other ice-fighting chemicals.
KYTC engineers are asking the public to avoid travel as the ice accumulates. Crews will be focused on maintaining access for emergency vehicles as the heaviest round of freezing rain is expected Wednesday night into Thursday.
The public is urged to closely monitor changing weather conditions as this winter storm develops and ice accumulates.
The freezing rain and sleet will be followed by extreme cold heading into the weekend with a low temperature on Sunday morning around 6 degrees at Paducah.
Again, KYTC engineers are urging everyone to limit travel due to the potential for hazardous driving conditions.
Updated travel conditions are available at goky.ky.gov.