LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — You don’t have to go very far while taking a stroll down memory lane when discussing recent ice storms in central Kentucky. We had a doozie in 2009 south of Lexington, and six years earlier the storm took dead aim at Lexington.
“’03 for Lexington was the worst one that’s come through here in a long time,” said Cliff Feltham who at the time worked for Kentucky Utilities.
“The one in ’09 went through Danville and Richmond and cause some devastation,” he continued.
Power lines and tree limbs were downed everywhere and cars were stranded on the side of roads. Some went for as long as a week before power was restored to their homes. As the region gets prepared for another potentially damaging ice storm this Wednesday afternoon and into Thursday, Feltham says you can only hope your preparation has been good and lessons have been learned from those prior storms.
You’ve got to keep the lines as clear as you possibly can,” Feltham said about trimming of tree limbs that reach above power lines. Those lines ultimately crumbled, Feltham said, because of the trees above.
Feltham tipped his cap to the line workers who have to face those harsh winter conditions while working to get those lines restored. If central and portions of southern and eastern Kentucky get what’s forecasted, they could be in for another round of long days and nights.
“The ice storms were a long-term event, particularly the way they came. It was just ice on top of ice,” Feltham said, sounding very much like it could’ve happened yesterday given how vividly he recalled all of it.
