Johnson County Fiscal Court February 16, 2021, 10:30 a.m. Press Release: Johnson County remains under a Declaration of Local State of Emergency origin.
/ WSIP AM 1490 | CBS Sports
Feb 16, 2021 11:53 PM
Big Sandy RECC lineman inspects downed tree and power lines in the Oil Springs/Picklefork area of Johnson County, Kentucky.
Photo: Big Sandy RECC
A cascade of downed electric lines and snapped utility poles Monday evening fueled a wave of power outages, primarily in southeastern and eastern Kentucky, when a second winter storm in less than a week tacked on another layer of crippling ice.
Electric cooperatives report multiple broken poles as co-op crews work to restore power to the more than 100,000 co-op consumer-members who lost service because of the ice storm. As of 4pm Tuesday, power had been restored to about 20,000 co-op members, as crews work to restore power to the remaining 77,000 members. The scope and comprehensive damage to co-op systems suggests a prolonged outage.
The following information was released by the National Weather Service in Jackson on Tuesday evening:
…WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING… WHAT…Heavy mixed precipitation is possible Wednesday night through Thursday night. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 5 inches and ice accumulations of one tenth to a quarter of an inch are possible. The potentially more significant ice accumulations would occur closer to the Tennessee and Virginia borders. There is still uncertainty in this forecast, so check back for updates. WHERE…Portions of east central, northeast, south central and southeast Kentucky. WHEN…From Wednesday evening through Friday morning.