Weather

Roads are clearing this morning after a night of freezing rain, sleet and snow, but more may be on the way. Schools were closed after a couple of inches of snow and ice fell on central Kentucky overnight, coating roads and making travel a risky proposition. "Slick, slushy and bad," Clark County Sheriff Berl Perdue Jr. said of the road conditions this morning. "And it's going to get worse. " City and county road crews spent most of the night treating and clearing the roads, before forecasts for more snow and ice come to fruition.

James Mann/jmann@winchestersun.com A leaf was having trouble deciding to go red or yellow as its autumn color of choice. The leaf was photographed near Lexington Road last week.

Mother Nature has a way of getting our attention, and sometimes that can be rather drastic. We’ve had in our column before about the need for being emergency prepared. The season is upon us now for heavy snows, ice storms, and extremely cold temperatures. Now is the time to give some thought as to how to best prepare food for your family in weather emergencies. Collect at least a three-day supply of food for each family member. Consider each person’s needs and preferences, storage space and emergency cooking methods.

Lincoln County Schools will release students early today due to worsening winter weather conditions. Buses will pick up high school students at 12:30, then continue to the middle school and elementary schools. Parents can also pick up their children from school at 12:30.

Winter weather was the cause of a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Edgewood Drive and U.S. 27 that sent one person to the hospital, according to Nicholasville police officer Sam Wade. The driver of a Ford F-150 was traveling southbound on U.S. 27 when he attempted to turn onto Edgewood Drive. Because of icy road conditions, he slide into a Ford Explorer Sports Track, Wade said. Nicholasville firefighters had to remove the driver’s-side door of the Explorer to remove the female victim.

A 72-year-old Carter County woman died recently when a creek she had lived beside her whole life swept away her trailer home and carried it, spinning and crashing, into the Little Sandy River. The week before, in Pike County, up to seven inches of rain in nine hours produced flash floods that killed two people. Twice now in 15 months floods have turned mountainous Pike County into a federal disaster area. Recent heavy rains closed the Milwaukee airport and collapsed a dam in Iowa.

Clark County native Mary Katherine Wasson came back to Winchester to share her meteorology knowledge with students at Shearer Elementary School on Friday. Wasson talked about the different seasons of the year and showed photos from each season. Most of the students, in kindergarten through second grade, raised their hands when Wasson asked if they knew what a tornado was while talking about the tornadoes and storms in Kentucky last week. Wasson told the students about her job as a meteorologist at Lexington's WTVQ Channel 36 and getting up each morning at 3 a.m. to work the station's early morning news and weather.

The National Weather Service has predicted one to two inches of ice for Boyle County for tonight, from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. with a possibility of three to four inches in isolated areas. Boyle County Judge-Executive Harold McKinney has asked that residents with weather-related emergencies call the Emergency Operating Center at (859) 936-7887. For all other emergencies, residents should call 911.

The weather seems to be the only potential stumbling block to commencing construction on a Cheddar's Casual Cafe near Walmart. City and county officials along with professionals from Lexington-based Greer Companies have done all they can for the project and now must await spring weather so construction can begin, said Jody Lassiter, president and chief executive officer of the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership. Once the weather is warm enough, the initial phase of construction will be the realignment of Popplewell Lane, according to Lassiter.

FRANKFORT — Kentuckians in Casey, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Metcalfe, Rockcastle, Rowan and Woodford counties who have lost work or whose businesses were damaged due to severe weather that occurred May 1 may be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. Farmers and self-employed people, who are normally not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, also may qualify for disaster unemployment assistance, according to the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training, an agency of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.

The Winchester Sun and Advocate Communications Inc. are pleased to announce the formation of the On Guard Text Alert System. The system is designed to send out emergency messages to cell phones and mobile devices. “We are very proud of our new system,” ACI Audience Manager John Preston said. “On Guard is going to keep the people in Clark and other Central Kentucky counties safer and better informed.” The system offers breaking news alerts from The Sun and other area newspapers, plus severe weather warnings for the area.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for much of the state from today through the early morning hours on Friday. Sustained winds of 15-25 mph with occasional gusts of up to 40 mph are possible today, the weather service office in Louisville said. Gusts may die down tonight around sunset but might pick up again as storms move through the state late tonight. High winds can make driving difficult, particularly for high-profile vehicles. And weakened trees can be blown over and unsecured outdoor objects may be blown around by the wind.

Spring began more than a week ago, but that didn't stop winter weather from contributing to multiple wrecks in Lincoln County earlier this week. Lincoln County Sheriff Curt Folger said there were eight reported accidents on Lincoln County roads Monday morning and one more Tuesday morning. Many of the accidents happened near the intersection of U.S. 127 and Indian Camp Road, due to ice forming on a bridge, Folger said. Folger said nearly half the wrecks happened Monday morning before 9 a.m. One of the nine wrecks was a three-vehicle wreck, but only one person sustained injuries and it was “nothing life-threatening,” Folger said.

This past weekend marked the one year anniversary of the devastating tornados in Morgan, Menifee, Magoffin and Laurel counties. We've had this in our column before, but the need for being emergency prepared is ever present. The season is upon us now for sudden and severe storms, floods and tornados. Now is the time to give some thought as to how to best prepare food for your family in weather emergencies. Collect at least a three-day supply of food for each family member. Consider each person's needs and preferences, storage space and emergency cooking methods.

Lennie Shepperson, director of  Boyle County Emergency Management, said a statewide severe weather drill will be conducted about 10:07 a.m. Tuesday. Outdoor warning sirens, cable alert messages and weather alert monitors will be activated. Sirens will run for their full three-minute time cycle. They are normally tested for less than a minute to hear if they operate properly.   Schools, industries and the general public are asked to participate in the drill. Here's how: Activate your severe weather (tornado)

The weather seems to be the only potential stumbling block to commencing construction on a Cheddar's Casual Cafe near Walmart. City and county officials along with professionals from Lexington-based Greer Companies have done all they can for the project and now must await spring weather so construction can begin, said Jody Lassiter, president and chief executive officer of the Danville-Boyle County Economic Development Partnership. Once the weather is warm enough, the initial phase of construction will be the realignment of Popplewell Lane, according to Lassiter.

It's obvious. Go to the Clark County Public Library. First of all, the library is warm, colorful, well-lit and cheerful. A few of the major compliments we get about our library is that it is beautiful, bright, and that everybody here is having a good time. If you've spent January cooped up at home regretting your inability to follow through on New Year's resolutions, the tonic for that isolation induced malaise is to come to the library and watch brightly dressed children skipping blithely to story hour, adults interrupting their enjoyment of magazines and newspapers to chat, genealogists sharing search tips in the local history room, and people of all ages entertaining and educating themselves with books, CD's and DVD's.

It's hard to believe, but it's that time of the year again. Ground Hog Day, that amusing event that occurs each year on the second day of February, is almost here. According to folklore, the little brown marmot will awake from a long winter nap, come out of his comfortable den, and through sleepy eyes, look around at the landscape.  What he sees will indicate what the weather will be for the next six weeks. If the sun is shining and the groundhog sees his shadow, he will return to the comfort of his den to sleep soundly through six more weeks of bad weather, but if it is cloudy and he doesn't see his shadow, winter will essentially be over and he will remain outside the den to enjoy pleasant weather that is sure to come.

Our apologies for not having our store open last weekend. The icy weather had our volunteers homebound. If all goes well, we will re-open this week at our usual time. The indoor Boyle County Farmers Market will continue to operate until the outdoor market opens in the spring. We are located in the Professional Building on Main Street, Danville (next to Hilliard and Lyons). Hours are: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Stop in for fresh vegetables, baked goods, jams, jellies, sorghum, honey, frozen meats and more.

 Lice can suck the profits out of your beef and dairy cattle herds during the winter. These cold-loving pests spread when animals bunch together in response to frigid temperatures.  You can reduce potential lice problems on newly bought cattle by keeping these animals separate from your herd until after you've given them a thorough louse treatment, generally two applications of a contact insecticide.  The first application kills active adults and immature lice but it won't destroy nits or eggs on the hide.