Temperatures plunge as artic blast moves through area

Ohio County, as well as most of the commonwealth, got its first taste of winter weather this season as a blast of arctic air moved through early this week, and another front is expected to arrive tomorrow.

Along with frigid temperatures and sub-zero wind chills, the front dropped snow across the Bluegrass.

The arctic cold front with snow showers moved across Ohio County Sunday as temperatures fell into single digits and wind chills dropped below zero.

Ohio County was under a winter weather advisory from Sunday night until 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.

According to the National Weather Service just under an inch of snow fell across the county Sunday night, but covered roadways creating a slick commute in spots Monday morning.

Ohio County Schools, which were closed on Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday, were canceled

on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sunday’s front brought brutally cold temperatures Monday and Tuesday with nearly the entire state seeing single digit lows and wind chills.

Today the NWS in Louisville is calling for sunny conditions with a high near 31 and wind chill values as low as -3. Wind gusts are expected to get as high as 23 miles per hour. Tonight there will be increasing clouds with a low around 18.

The NWS expects below freezing temperatures to continue throughout the week.

On Thursday, the high is expected to be 31 degrees with snow showers likely sometime after noon. Chance of precipitation is 70% with new snow accumulation of around an inch possible.

“Another dome of very cold air will move into the region this weekend,” according to the National Weather Service in Louisville.

Temperatures are expected to drop again on Friday and Saturday with highs in the 20’s and lows once again in single digits.

On Sunday night, Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency ahead of the bitterly cold temperatures and snow.

Beshear said Monday that utility companies were working to restore power to nearly 1,014 citizens.

The governor also activated the state’s price gouging laws to protect familes from grossly overpriced goods and services.

Secretary Jim Gray said transportation crews began treating the roads on Sunday with a force of over 2,000 people and 1,400 snowplow trucks to deploy around the commonwealth – both state trucks and private contractors.

On Tuesday afternoon, at the request of their power supplier, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Warren RECC is asking its members to voluntarily reduce the use of all non-essential electricity through this afternoon. This helps power providers across the Tennessee Valley to continue delivering reliable service during this period of exceptionally cold temperatures across the region.

“This is a precautionary measure,” said Butch Massey, Vice President of Engineering and Operations at Warren RECC. “Anytime we experience a period of extreme cold, it significantly increases the demand for electricity. Together with TVA, we are proactively taking steps to reduce energy consumption by asking our members to take small practical steps that can have a big impact on our ability to meet the demand for electricity.”