Kentucky has been impacted by two storm systems that brought copious amounts of rain and snow and Governor Andy Beshear says some more snow is set to come to parts of the state Wednesday night.
At Wednesday’s Severe Weather Update, Beshear says parts of western Kentucky received up to eight inches of snowfall, the most in the state. Snow amounts further east were less, but still resulted in transportation delays.
Snowfall started Tuesday evening and concluded Wednesday morning. Beshear says on Wednesday night the snow will return over most of the state, and east Kentucky is set to receive the most snowfall at around three inches. Christian, Todd and Trigg Counties are expected to receive less than an inch of snow, if any at all.
Along with more snow, the majority of the state is under a cold weather advisory. Beshear says temperatures are set to be well below freezing and could even reach single digits when wind chill values are considered.
Heavy rain over the weekend resulted in around 220 roads being closed, because of high water, mudslides and rockslides.
Beshear says so far 14 weather-related fatalities have been reported and funds from the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund will go toward their funeral costs. The fund was announced on Monday and so far, it has received around $120,000.
Donations from the fund will also go toward recovery and rehousing efforts. For additional storm recovery support, Beshear says they have applied for federal storm recovery assistance. If the application is accepted Beshear says the state would receive immediate need assistance, funding for storm clean-ups and individual assistance for folks whose homes were damaged by the storms.
Turning toward state-funded storm recovery, in the 2024 session of the Kentucky General Assembly, lawmakers approved a budget bill that limits how much funding can go toward governor-declared emergencies to $25 million.
Beshear says they are nearing that spending cap and plan on working with legislators to get more funding or have the spending cap removed.
Information concerning weather-related road closures is available at goky.ky.gov.