The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 2 Snow & Ice Team is preparing for a winter weather event this weekend.
The team plans to have crews start pre-treat area highways at 6:00 a.m., on Friday, to prepare for snow arriving late Friday afternoon. Some crews could begin pre-treating efforts today as they complete other previously planned highway maintenance activities.
Based on the latest forecast update, snow with some winter mix is expected to move across the region starting around 5:00 p.m., Friday, continuing until around 2:00 a.m., Saturday. Accumulations are expected to range from about 2 to 3 inches of snow along our Ohio River border counties in the north to about 1 inch across our middle counties and maybe as little as ½ inch along our southern counties.
Crews will start by pre-treating mainly “A” Snow Priority Routes such as Interstate 69, Interstate 24, our parkways, and US Highways. As time allows, crews will attempt to treat as many “B” and “C” Snow Priority Routes as possible. However, time may limit the ability of crews to pre-treat all routes.
KY highway crews across the 11 counties of District 2 have received some help from substantial sunshine over the last day or two that has helped to raise pavement temperatures. During the early hours of this event, the main concern will be the icing of bridges and overpasses.
Snow that falls starting late in the day on Friday is expected to be a wet snow, making it fairly easy to plow as it accumulates.
Crews are planning to treat and plow during the overnight hours Friday into Saturday. Temperatures are expected to rise above freezing around Mid-Morning, Saturday, helping to improve driving conditions through the day.
Motorists who plan to be on the road overnight Friday and into Saturday morning, or have travel plans to neighboring states, should be aware that freezing rain is expected across areas to our west, and higher snow accumulation amounts are expected to the north.
Motorists are encouraged to monitor the National Weather Service (https://www.facebook.com/NWSPaducah/) and area news media outlets for weather updates while keeping a close watch on localized driving conditions.
Updates as appropriate.
Timely traffic advisories for the 11 counties of KYTC Highway District 2 are available by going to www.facebook.com/kytcdistrict2. You do not have to be a Facebook member to access this page.
Navigate traffic with KYTC, www.511.ky.gov, and Waze, www.waze.com!
