Schools and many businesses throughout Lexington closed up shop Tuesday as the region worked to dig its way out after a daylong snowstorm dumped 10 inches of snow across a wide area.
The storm forced flight cancellations at Blue Grass Airport and caused trouble for area businesses large and small, with road conditions that varied from challenging to dangerous making some work impossible. In a rare move, Toyota’s Georgetown manufacturing plan called an interruption of production — known as Plan P — for its second shift Monday and its first shift on Tuesday morning, officials said. Under Plan P, the plant remains open and work is available, but vehicles are not being produced and reporting to work is optional for some workers.
But not all businesses were hurt by the snowy weather, however. Bill Edwards, owner of Chevy Chase Hardware, said his shop sold out of snow shovels just before closing time Monday, even though driving was difficult on East High Street.
“We cleaned out our front parking lot five times, trying to keep up with the snow,” Edwards said.
As of Tuesday morning, the store still had rock salt and sleds in stock. Edwards said last year’s unusually cold winter was a boon for his business, but sales of outdoor winter supplies have dragged during this year’s relatively milder weather. Until Monday’s snowstorm, that is, which he said helped clean out his inventory.
City snowplow crews had hit the streets early Monday and continued working around the clock in 12-hour shifts to try to keep up with the accumulation, which was the heaviest snowfall recorded in Lexington over a 24-hour period since 1998. Still, with more than 900 miles of plowing needed on priority streets, many secondary roads remained untouched Tuesday, making neighborhoods throughout the city difficult to navigate.
Most flights at Blue Grass Airport were cancelled Monday, with operations returning to normal Tuesday morning, official there said. However, some East Coast areas, including Charlotte, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C., still were feeling the effects of the storm, with cancellations at both airports continuing to pile up.
Gov. Steve Beshear declared a statewide emergency Monday, authorizing the possible use of National Guard troops to help with relief efforts, as the storm dropped as much as 14 inches of snow on some parts of the state.
Locally, Fayette County Public Schools announced all schools would be closed Wednesday for a second day after staying shuttered Tuesday. Schools in all surrounding counties were also cancelled Tuesday. Classes also were cancelled for the second consecutive day at the University of Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky University, as well as Bluegrass Community and Technical College.
Mayor Jim Gray said Monday that storm-related accidents in the Lexington area had been relatively low, thanks in part to citizens heeding the call to stay off the roads when possible. Earlier Monday, police had reported five injury accidents, 34 non-injury accidents and 293 calls from motorists for assistance. Lexington police brought in extra crews Monday and Tuesday to help transport hospital and emergency personnel as needed.
In Lexington, nonessential city offices were shut down and residential waste collection was cancelled for Tuesday. Power outages related to the storm have been minimal across the state, due in part to the snow’s light and fluffy consistency, reported Kentucky Utilities statewide media relations manager Cliff Feltham.
Residents seeking information on when the city’s plows will get to their streets can access Lexington’s Snow and Ice Control Plan online.