The Mountain Eagle
WHITESBURG WEATHER

Cold temps bring loss of power here




About 240 households in Millstone were without electricity for five hours on Tuesday morning, with single digit temperatures. Letcher County Judge/Executive Jim Ward said all power was restored by noon on Tuesday.

Ward said none of the senior citizens centers were used as emergency shelters.

“We would have opened some up if we had gotten any calls,” said Ward.

The senior citizens centers and sanitation department were closed Tuesday because of road conditions, but should be open today (Wednesday).

Ward said county road department employees have been working 12-hour shifts and have had problems with salt freezing up in the trucks. Ward said mixing # 8 gravel, also known as pea gravel, with salt seems to be helping keep the roads safe.

“We’re trying to work the roads as much as we can,” he said.

The low was minus 3 degrees in Whitesburg on Tuesday and the coldest windshield factor was minus 20, according to Jeff Carico, spokesperson with the National Weather Service in Jackson. Carico said eastern Kentucky hasn’t experienced temperatures this low since the mid 1990s.

“It’s just real cold,” said Ward.



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