Winter Storm 2009

8:09pm: The Herald-Leader is reporting that at least 525,000 Kentuckians are without power. This storm will rank as one of the worst storms of any type Kentucky has seen in recent years. By the grace of God, Letcher County and much of SE Kentucky was spared the worst. Continue to PRAY for those affected by the storm.

While this will be my final update on the storm on this particular blog post, I will continue coverage of the aftermath in my regular "trio" posts. Thanks to all of you for following this major event.

5:10pm: Louisville's LG&E has said that it will take 7-10 days to restore electricity to storm-affected customers in its service area.

4:19pm: Precip has left the Commonwealth at long last. The Winter Weather Advisory has been canceled. Apparently, the moisture left before the bulk of the cold air arrived. The Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory for the area will continue until 5pm. Since the precip has ended, I have taken down the maps for this post.

2:12pm: Precip winding down here in Letcher County. Temps are hovering in the low 30s. Despite the storm, the Girls' All 'A' high school basketball tourney is going on at EKU, but all games are played in one delayed session instead of the usual two sessions. Sports writer Mike Fields from the Herald-Leader has more here.

1:32pm: The number of outages keep rising. At least 473,000 are without power here in the Commonwealth. This does not include city-run utilities or rural co-ops who are affiliated with TVA.

1:12pm: The snow has arrived in Letcher County...school buses are on the roads. Stay safe.

12:26pm: As you can see by the above radar, the rain-snow line is approaching Letcher County. PRAY for those affected by the storm.

11:55am: The National Weather Service office in Jackson has lost power. All warnings, watches, etc. normally issued by NWS Jackson are currently issued by the NWS office in Wilmington, Ohio. Blue Grass Airport in Lexington has lost power and is operating on generator power.

11:42am: The Letcher County School System will be dismissing at 12:30pm due to the anticipated wintry weather.

11:36am: WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY for Letcher County until 6pm...1-3 inches of snow expected along with light ice accumulation on the ridges from light freezing rain. The AP is reporting that at least 375,000 customers are without power statewide, making this the second largest series of outages in Kentucky's history. 600,000 were without power in September after the remnants of Hurricane Ike moved through the state.

11:02am ET: Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory for most of Eastern Kentucky until 5pm.

9:51am ET: Moderate to heavy rain falling here in Isom. 60 degrees in Whitesburg, but according to WeatherBug, Hazard's temperature dropped to 44.

9:14am ET: Quoting a state official, the Associated Press is reporting that at least 174,000 Kentuckians are without power. Roads in Lawrence County are open only for utility and emergency crews.

6:29am ET on Wednesday: 60,000 Kentuckians are without power. PRAY for those without power. 54 degrees at WXKQ near Whitesburg, 61 in Hazard according to WeatherBug, but 32 at the National Weather Service office in Jackson. Warm air has moved into far SE Kentucky. While the GFS still indicates 2-3 inches of snow, NWS Jackson is stating that due to the warm ground temps, accumulating snow will be unlikely.

10:52pm ET: New forecast for Letcher County indicates snow and sleet accumulation of only one inch with the next batch of moisture tomorrow. This will be my final report for the night. Barring any extremely major developments, storm-blogging will resume tomorrow morning.

9:47pm ET: 8.7% of Kentucky Power's customers are without power due to the winter storm. View the outage map here.

7:56pm: Dry slot over SE Kentucky at this time. NWS Jackson is not going along with TG--they are forecasting up to two inches of snow and sleet with the second wave.

5:45pm: WKYT's TG Shuck is forecasting 3-5 inches of snow for the higher elevations when the second wave of low pressure moves in tomorrow.

3:41pm ET: Gov. Steve Beshear has declared a state of emergency for the entire Commonwealth.

3:28pm ET: New forecast discussion has been released by NWS Jackson. The Herald-Leader has more about the storm here.

1:52pm ET: Winter storm warning canceled for areas south of a line from Somerset to Hindman, including Letcher County. All other counties remain under the warning until 7am tomorrow morning.

1:22pm ET: Chris Bailey recently posted his latest thoughts about the storm.

11:40am ET: NWS Jackson has the latest forecast.

11:33am ET: GFS run indicates a potential 4-8 inch snowfall total with the next wave of moisture. Up to 10 inches possible to our north. But is the GFS overstating the totals? We'll see.

10:03am ET: It is all rain here in Isom. It appears the worst weather has moved to the north of us.

8:43am ET: Road conditions continue to improve here in Letcher County according to Kevin. Fog is rolling in.

7:53am ET: Very small icicles on trees and power lines around my house in Isom. Temp is still 33 degrees.

7:38am ET: Radar indicating rain-mix line roughly along Kentucky Route 80 with the mix-snow line roughly along I-64. WXKQ's Kevin Day is reporting that most Letcher County roads are wet with some slick spots.

6:28am ET: The temperature at the studios of WXKQ-FM just outside of Whitesburg is at 33, just above freezing.

5:44am ET on Tuesday: The storm has arrived. Reports of icy, treacherous roads throughout the state, including here in Letcher County, where schools are CLOSED. Power outages are being reported in Western Kentucky. Chris Bailey has more here.

11:20pm ET on Monday: WYMT's Jim Caldwell has some thoughts on the storm here.

10:59pm ET on Monday: The following is from the latest forecast discussion from NWS Jackson:
"THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY DIFFICULT FORECAST TO KEEP UP WITH ALL OF THE CHANGES IN PRECIPITATION TYPES DURING THIS WINTER EVENT. HAVING JUST TAKEN A QUICK LOOK AT THE NEW NAM WRF THAT IS COMING IN...IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THE SYSTEM IS MOVING A LITTLE FASTER WITH THIS NEW RUN. I DID AN EXTRAPOLATION OF THE LEADING EDGE OF THE PRECIPITATION ECHOS FROM THE RADAR...AND THIS WOULD ALSO AGREE WITH THE EARLIER ONSET TIME. THE INITIAL PRECIPITATION TYPE LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BE SOME FREEZING DRIZZLE...THEN MIXING WITH SLEET BEFORE GOING OVER TO SNOW. THERE WILL BE SOME VARIANCE GOING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH...WITH THE NORTHERN AREAS MORE LIKELY TO SEE SNOW. WILL WAIT TO SEE THE NEW GFS BEFORE MAKING ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES...BUT I AM LEANING TOWARD MORE FREEZING RAIN AND LESS SNOW SOUTH OF JACKSON."

Click on the blue words for definitions of those terms. If this scenario plays out, expect power outages. If I do not update throughout the day tomorrow it is due to:

1) Power or computer failure
2) Server problems at Blogger
3) Health or other personal issues

I pray that you have made the necessary preps for the storm. While preparing for this storm is very important, there is something more important to think about during any type of storm. Billy Graham states that:

"[T]here are clouds of suffering for each one of us, but God says, “I come to you in the thick dark cloud of suffering,” By faith you can see His blessed face in the storm. God has His plan and purpose in all suffering."

Our ultimate trust is in the Lord.

7:59pm ET on Monday: The live-blogging of the storm begins. The above image is from the National Weather Service in Jackson. It--and this blog--will be updated with the latest info during the storm. There is a WINTER STORM WARNING that is in effect for Eastern Kentucky beginning at midnight tonight. In addition, due to the potential for heavy rain during the storm, a FLOOD WATCH will be in effect beginning tomorrow morning for parts of the region. Click here to get the latest watches and warnings. Post your thoughts about the storm in the comments section.