Kentucky declares state of emergency ahead of ‘really dangerous’ cold weather

A dangerous “bomb cyclone” will sweep the United States in the coming days

Kentucky has declared a state of emergency ahead of “really dangerous” cold weather this week.

Governor Andy Beshear warned people that the extremely cold weather forecast for the state could lead to hazardous conditions.

“This is going to be really, really dangerous,” Gov. Beshear told a press conference on Wednesday morning. “After tornadoes and floods, pandemics and multiple ice storms just in these last three years, I don’t want to lose one person to this Arctic front that is coming through.”

The National Weather Service’s local office in Louisville warned that plummeting temperatures on Thursday night may cause a flash freeze, creating hazardous icy patches on roads, and possible snow.

“Remember to focus on other hazards besides the snow. The wind and cold will very likely be the bigger deal with this storm. These are wind chills not to mess around with! Stay safe,” forecasters tweeted.

A few inches of snowfall was possible west and north of Louisville with lesser amounts to the south and east, NWS reported. By Friday, 40mph winds will gust with bitter wind chills. The cold will remain over the Christmas weekend before temperatures slowly begin to rise next week.

A dangerous “bomb cyclone” will sweep the United States in the coming days and create travel misery for millions over the festive holidays.

The NWS is predicting heavy snow, icy conditons, flooding, strong winds and even a few tornadoes from Thursday until Christmas Eve from the east coast to the Plains and Midwest, swiftly followed by a blast of Arctic air. Nearly 70 million people were placed under winter storm watches or warnings.

The severe weather is being described as a “bomb cyclone” as it’s expected to undergo a process called bombogenesis -- when a storm rapidly intensifies over 24 hours.

“Extremely dangerous travel conditions” are likely for the next few days, the NWS said, impacting both road and air travel.

Driving will be treacherous with heavy snowfall of 1-2 inches per hour at times. Accompanying wind gusts of over 50mph will result in zero visibility and blowing and drifting snow.

On Wednesday morning, 18 flights had been cancelled and 483 were facing delays in the US, according to the FlightAware monitor’s “Misery Map”.

Some of the country’s biggest carriers including United and Southwest had issued travel advisories by Wednesday morning.

The strong winds could also lead to potential power outages and tree damage from the Midwest to the Northeast. There will be flooding risk on Friday on the east coast as heavy rain falls onto a melting snowpack.

There were concerns surrounding the Texas power system after the grid collapsed during Winter Storm Uri amid a brutal deep freeze in February 2021. ERCOT, which is responsible for 90 percent of Texas’s electric load to 26 million customers, said it was “closely monitoring weather conditions” in a press release.

This article is being updated