Snow blankets Pulaski County, rest of state

Law enforcement reports safe driving despite blast of winter weather

By HEATHER PYLES, CJ Staff Writer

Pulaski County seemed to fare well in the face of the season’s first major winter storm, which has wreaked havoc along the eastern side of the state.

“I think we were kind of on the edge of the path of the storm,” said Pulaski County Sheriff Todd Wood on Saturday, who noted that the majority of incidents reported Friday evening were one-vehicle, minor accidents and that Pulaski countians “did very well” during the wintry weather.

Many Pulaski County residents were watching the two to three inches of snow that had fallen throughout the night on Friday begin to disappear in the face of temperatures in the high-30s on Saturday.

Friday’s day-long rain transitioned to snow at approximately 5 p.m., with heavy snowfall continuing until late into Friday night. But despite the weather, no serious accidents were reported on Pulaski County’s roadways on Friday or Saturday.

“I don’t know of any injury accident we had,” said Pulaski County Public Safety Inspector Tiger Robinson.

As the snow began to fall Friday, several reports of non-injury accidents were made, including one incident that happened around 7 p.m. approximately five miles north of Somerset on Ky. 39 in which one motorist left the roadway. Only a few minutes after that accident occurred, another minor accident occurred as well in the same area. That scene was cleared relatively quickly.

Robinson also said a few motorists were stranded on steep hills in the Mt. Victory area and the Haynes Knob area, and he said some reports were made of downed trees as of Saturday morning due to the heavy, wet snow, but no one was injured.

County, city and state road crews stayed on the roads throughout Friday evening to ensure conditions did not become treacherous. Many roads simply remained wet, helped along by above-freezing temperatures that settled in for much of the night.

“I believe we escaped the majority of the storm,” Wood said.

Matt Becker, with the National Weather Service in Jackson, Ky., said Pulaski County “dodged a bullet” with this weekend’s storm. Snowfall numbers in the county were varied.

In Colo, located in the eastern part of the county, 4.5 inches of snowfall was reported on Friday night, while parts of Somerset saw only around 1.5 inches. Residents in Science Hill saw between 2 and 3 inches of snow overnight Friday.

That same storm that did little to snarl travel late Friday and early Saturday in Pulaski County dumped anywhere from four to 12 inches of snow in the eastern region of the state, according to information obtained from the NWS in Jackson.

“Some of the highest elevations on the Virginia border likely saw well over a foot of snow,” stated information posted on the NWS Web site. “Many reports of downed trees were received with numerous power outages from the very heavy and wet snow.

“Also, numerous accidents were reported with the snow overnight and many roads were closed due to the conditions.”

The snowfall totals varied greatly across the state, with many of the higher amounts reported in higher elevations.

As a testament to the highly varied snowfall from the storm, Becker said Wayne and McCreary counties, both bordering Pulaski to the south, saw enough heavy, wet snow to cause downed trees and dangerous road conditions.

Monticello, located in Wayne County, saw 3.3 inches of snow Friday night.

In Stearns, located in McCreary County, four inches of snow was reported to have fallen overnight Friday and into Saturday morning.

According to the NWS Jackson Web site, some, 3,500 South Kentucky RECC customers in McCreary County were reported to be without power as of Saturday afternoon, with 250 to 300 Cumberland Valley RECC customers without power as well.

Becker said many areas in the eastern and southeastern part of the state saw a heavy snow mixed with rain, which proved too much for trees and power lines. According to the NWS Jackson Web site, reports of outages began as early as Friday afternoon in several counties, including Lee, Leslie, Perry, Pike and Owsley counties.

Road conditions weren’t much better in those areas. Downed trees and icy conditions made roads nearly impassible in many areas — including McCreary County, where as many as 20 wrecks were reported Friday as the snow continued to fall, according to the NWS Jackson Web site.

The following are just a few reported snowfall amounts from Friday night and Saturday morning listed on the NWS Jackson Web site from the eastern part of the state:

• Black Mountain in Harlan County: 6 inches of snow as of 6 p.m. Friday

• Pineville in Bell County: Between 6 and 7 inches of snow as of 6:30 p.m. Friday

• Pike County near the Kentucky-Virginia line: 4 to 5 inches of snow as of 7:13 p.m. Friday

• Williamsburg in Whitley County: 6 inches of snow as of 3:50 a.m. Saturday

• Breathitt County: 11 inches of snow as of 7 a.m. Saturday

Much of the eastern part of the state remained under a winter storm warning Saturday, as more snowfall was expected.

Becker said as temperatures dropped Saturday evening, the rainy weather in Pulaski County was fully expected to transition back into snow, with an additional accumulation of one to two inches of snow.

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