Kentucky Emergency Operations Center opening in Frankfort ahead of winter storm

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Emergency Management will activate its State Emergency Operations Center as a winter storm moves across the United States and should blanket much of Kentucky and southern Indiana with snow and/or ice.

Starting Saturday, millions of people are going to be hit by moderate to heavy snow from Kansas City to Washington — including a high chance of at least 8 inches of snow between central Kansas and Indiana — the National Weather Service warned Friday.

Dangerous ice particularly lethal to power lines — "so heavy like paste, it's hard to move," said private meteorologist Ryan Maue — is likely to set in just south of that in southern Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and much of Kentucky and West Virginia.

Kentucky officials said Friday the centralized emergency operations center in Frankfort can help organize and dispatch what's needed.

"By being operational we can quickly assist any local entity by coordinating resource requests that are needed," KYEM Director Eric Gibson said Friday. "Please be weather aware and prepare accordingly, your safety is always our first and top priority."

Keep an eye on the weather throughout the weekend, as significant accumulations of ice and snow will be possible across a majority of the commonwealth, especially in North Central Kentucky. We know the best way to stay safe is to be prepared. pic.twitter.com/j9nJFDFzyc
— Governor Andy Beshear (@GovAndyBeshear) January 3, 2025

As the storm moves out on Monday, hundreds of millions of people in the eastern two-thirds of the nation will be plunged into dangerous bone-chilling air and wind chills all week, government and private forecasters said.

Temperatures could be 12 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (7 to 14 degrees Celsius) colder than normal as the dreaded polar vortex stretches down from the high Arctic bringing chilly weather, they said.

The biggest drop below normal is likely to be centered over the Ohio Valley, but significant unusual cold will extend southward all the way to the Gulf Coast, said Danny Barandiaran, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.

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