Winter Weather — Christian, Kentucky

2008-12-23 · Christian, Kentucky

Wider weather episode

Widespread freezing rain coated surfaces with up to one-tenth inch of ice. Due to very cold antecedent conditions, pavement temperatures were low enough that the initial drops of precipitation immediately created hazardous conditions. A southerly flow of warmer air around high pressure over the Carolina coast overspread a shallow layer of cold air near the surface. The result was widespread icing. The freezing rain occurred during the morning commute, causing a rash of traffic accidents and school closings. Two fatal accidents occurred. In the first fatal wreck, an elderly woman driving on Greenville Road in northern Christian County was unable to stop for a vehicle in front of her. She swerved, went airborne, and struck two trees at the bottom of a ditch. The second fatal accident occurred in Hopkins County on U.S. Highway 62 east of Dawson Springs. A semi-trailer going westbound struck a tree, killing the driver. Across western Kentucky, over one hundred accidents occurred, slowing traffic to a crawl. The Kentucky State Police post that covers the Purchase area (extreme western Kentucky) worked about 100 accidents, including six with injuries. The State Police post based in Madisonville responded to 28 wrecks, including four with injuries. County sheriff departments reported many more additional wrecks, including 30 in McCracken County and 54 in Marshall County. Parts of the Purchase Parkway were closed due to a multi-vehicle pileup involving dozens of cars. Salt trucks and emergency response vehicles slid off roads. Numerous accidents with injuries occurred on U.S. Highway 641 near Murray. Ambulances encountered significant delays in reaching accident victims. In Carlisle County, there were over 50 accidents, including numerous tractor-trailers in ditches or jack-knifed. Major roads such as Kentucky Highway 80 in Graves County were closed due to numerous wrecks and/or disabled vehicles. A few noteworthy wrecks occurred in Henderson County on Highway 41-A, where there was a head-on collision and an overturned vehicle in two unrelated mishaps. Vehicles had difficulty negotiating on and off ramps from freeways. In Henderson, municipal bus service was suspended for several hours. Hospitals in the Paducah area treated a number of persons who slipped and fell on the ice, as well as auto accident victims.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 140379. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.