Governor Matt Bevin Declares State of Emergency in Kentucky

With snow totals increasing and snow continuing to fall at an increasingly rapid rate, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin has issued a state of emergency for the Commonwealth.

A combination of freezing rain and power outages in the southern part of the state and heavy snow in Central and Eastern Kentucky has made traveling hazardous enough for the declaration to be issued.

It gives emergency and local personnel for leeway in terms of utilizing state resources to assist in public safety.

Here's what Governor Bevin had to say regarding the declaration:

“My primary concern is safety. By declaring a state emergency we are giving emergency management the options they need to proactively respond to local needs. I thank all of the officials working hard to keep people safe and commerce flowing. We urge all citizens to remain at home and stay off of the roads allowing emergency services the opportunity to keep the roadways safe.”

Kentucky Emergency Management Director, Michael Dossett added, "The Commonwealth has come through the worst part of the snowfall event. The storm front should move out of the area by 7 pm EST. We’ve encountered sporadic power outages, but more specifically calls regarding slow moving traffic on interstates. It is imperative that we allow our first responders the ability to provide timely services throughout the state. In that light, we are asking that our citizens refrain from travel on the interstate system for the remainder of this storm period. By virtue of the executive order for a state of emergency, allied state agencies are now able to leverage resources that are beyond local government capabilities.”

According to the National Weather Service, snow totals in Eastern Kentucky could be historic.

At any rate, by the time Winter Storm Jonas has done its thing, most of Kentucky could see about a foot of snow.

And look who's getting a bird's-eye view of this lovely Kentucky weather: