Cady Stribling
News Editor
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Murray State campuses will function remotely this week after the National Weather Service issued an ice storm warning.
According to the Kentucky Highway Snow & Ice report for District 1 by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, crews are treating highways in anticipation of another round of freezing drizzle, freezing rain and sleet expected to arrive Thursday, Feb. 11.
On Wednesday, Feb. 10, the District 1 Super Tanker sprayed brine enhanced with calcium chloride along I-24 and I-69.
Gov. Andy Beshear sent a press release, stating the hazardous winter storm system that impacts communities starting Wednesday, Feb. 10.
Beshear said on Wednesday, Feb. 10, road conditions would worsen and rush hour would be dangerous. He closed all state offices at 2:30 p.m.
“Protecting our Kentucky families is the main mission of my administration,” Beshear said in the press release. “So earlier today, KYEM activated its State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 7 a.m. EST at Level 4 operations. We urge all Kentuckians to stay tuned to their local media for information on weather, visit snowky.ky.gov for snow and ice resources and goky.ky.gov to check road conditions. “
On Wednesday, Feb. 10, and Tuesday, Feb. 9, the University sent out weather updates, stating all regional campus sites will continue virtually.
“Due to the possibility of inclement weather and as a safety precaution, Murray State University, including all regional campus sites at Hopkinsville, Madisonville, Paducah, Henderson and Ft. Campbell, will be operating remotely on February 10, 2021,” according to the update. “In addition, in-person classes at the Paducah Regional Campus are cancelled for tonight (Feb. 9) beginning at 4 p.m.”
According to the update, the facilities management staff will do ice removal operations on campus. Because of the storm, there is a chance that power lines could be down, causing power outages.
With freezing temperatures, Kentucky Emergency Management says to prepare with an alternate source of heat in case there is a loss of power. They have released the following steps:
Be aware of the dangers of alternate heat sources and carbon monoxide poisoning. Generators, camp stoves or charcoal grills should always be used outdoors and at least 20 feet away from windows.
Never use a gas stovetop or oven to heat your home. Visit http://www.cdc.gov/co/guidelines.htm for more information.
If you experience a downed power line or power outage, please contact your local utility company. They will be able to provide you with information on the duration of your outage. Stay away from downed power lines or broken utility lines.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet also said highway snow-fighters were preparing for a major winter storm packing damaging ice ahead of snow and possibly bitter cold that will affect road conditions across the state.
Gov. Andy Beshear has asked the people of the commonwealth to be careful on the roads.
“We ask Kentuckians to be cautious of roadway conditions that will be hazardous in some areas,” Beshear said. “Please stay off roadways unless necessary.”
A few Murray State students are preparing for the weather in a few different ways.
Junior nursing major Emily Davis said she was supposed to be at Jackson Purchase Medical Center Wednesday at 6:30 a.m before her clinicals were canceled because of the ice storm. Instead, Davis will do a make-up assignment to replace the hours she would’ve put into the hospital.
Davis said although she has not done much to prepare for the ice storm, she has food and drinks in her residential college room. She also has gas in her car in case she needs to go somewhere and won’t break down.
“I am thankful for the extra time to study and catch up on my studies while we have this storm,” Davis said. “I am not particularly nervous about the ice storm because while it may be bad, we have definitely seen worse storms and made it through. If worse comes to worse, I will snuggle up in my bed with lots of blankets and study my flashcards.”
Alistair Majors, sophomore TESOL major, said he doesn’t have a plan about preparing for the ice storm.
“I honestly don’t have a plan about preparing,” Majors said. “If anything, I just wait until I see how bad it is and adjust accordingly. I know that’s terrible because one should always prepare for the worst, but I can just never bring myself to worry that much.”
Majors said he lives on campus and does not have a driver’s license, so bad weather can be an inconvenience.
“The only thing I have in mind is that because I eat out quite a bit, I’ll have to resort to eating the food I keep in my dorm,” Majors said. “I’m a little worried about that because I haven’t done groceries in two weeks and I ate the majority of it already. As I stated before, I can’t really do anything besides see just how much it’ll limit me.”
Majors said most of his classes are on Zoom, so the ice storm won’t affect him much. He has a friend who is a pre-vet major and has labs everyday, and these will be affected, Majors said. weather and he noticed many people cover shifts in newer dorms, but not so much at the older ones.
Stay tuned with The News on social media, as we will update this story as more information is released.
