The Louisville area saw a wintry mix with a combination of snow, sleet and freezing drizzle overnight, but with less ice accumulation than originally forecast.
Preliminary reports from parts of Southern Indiana saw sleet and up to a quarter inch of ice that fell overnight, according to the National Weather Service. South of the river, parts of Louisville saw about a tenth of an inch of ice as well with snowfall closer to a half inch.
Travel will likely still be treacherous Friday morning with slick spots especially on untreated roadways.
Meteorologist Kyle Wilkins says they’ll have a better idea of the totals as the morning goes on, but overall the weather appears to be less severe than most anticipated.
“We were expecting icing in some areas up to a half inch which would have caused more power outages and tree damage,” Wilkins said. “I mean, we did have some trees come down and there were some power outages but nothing like we feared initially.”
Wilkins expects colder temperatures will bring more snow flurries this morning, but the weather system should move out around midday, he said.
As of this morning, about 1,500 customers were without power, according to Louisville Gas and Electric’s power outage map. But the vast majority of those were in Western Kentucky or Frankfort. Only about 50 were in the Louisville area.
Louisville Metro Emergency services reported nine accidents on the roads; seven of those had no reported injuries. The department also reported one downed tree and one downed wire overnight.
Jefferson County Public Schools canceled school for a snow day. University of Louisville canceled classes and closed buildings, and Oldham County Schools are also closed.
Louisville’s library and parks, the Waste Reduction Center, Louisville Metro animal adoption center, and the Louisville Zoo have all closed their buildings.
One notable thing that’s open: white flag shelters. As long as temperatures or wind chill is below 35 degrees, people can go to Wayside Christian Mission, St. Vincent de Paul, or the Salvation Army to avoid the worst of the cold.
