Second day of winter storm puts area in deep freeze
Published 7:00 pm Monday, January 6, 2025
Light snowfall sits on the roofs of downtown Bowling Green Monday morning, as below-freezing temperatures brought wind, freezing rain and ice to the region over the weekend. (Jack Dobbs / Daily News)
Michael Hoffman relaxes inside a warming station in Sugar Maple Square on Monday. Warming stations are now open across the area, providing a space for those in need to warm up as temperatures fell in the region. (Jack Dobbs / Daily News)
Local aid organization HOTEL INC opened a warming station in Sugar Maple Square on Monday, providing a space for those in need to warm up as temperatures fell in Bowling Green on Monday. (Jack Dobbs / Daily News)
The first significant winter weather system to affect the area this season has caused numerous power outages and car accidents and forced the closure of schools and businesses.
Light snow accumulation, amounting to less than an inch, was expected to hit the area late Monday morning and into the early afternoon, a day after ice covered southcentral Kentucky.
The National Weather Service Louisville Office added Warren County, previously under a winter weather advisory, to the area covered by a winter storm warning through early Monday evening.
The precipitation locally changed over to rain Sunday afternoon with the occasional clap of thunder, but temperatures this week are anticipated to remain below freezing thanks to a mass of cold air moving into the area.
Bowling Green Independent Schools buildings were closed Monday, with the weather forcing district officials to transition to non-traditional instruction.
Bowling Green city government offices were closed Monday, and Warren County government offices delayed their opening to 10 a.m. Monday.
Other school districts in the area were closed Monday due to the weather.
Warren Rural Electric Co-Operative Corporation reported up to 13,000 members lost power on Sunday, but the agency posted on social media Monday morning that power had been restored to all but 160 members, with work ongoing to bring the remaining users back online.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 3 highway crews were deployed Monday morning to treat roads throughout the 10-county district, but there were still a plethora of largely single-vehicle crashes on Sunday as drivers struggled to navigate the treacherous conditions.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Landon Key had just finished work at the scene of a collision on northbound Interstate 65 near the 57-mile marker in Hart County when his cruiser, still in the shoulder of the road with its lights activated, was rear-ended by another vehicle traveling north shortly after noon Sunday, according to KSP.
Key was treated and released from T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow for his injuries, and KSP said the driver who struck his cruiser was cited for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.
As of Sunday afternoon, KSP Post 3 said it had received calls about five injury collisions and 49 non-injury crashes.
