As the region braces for what is lining up to be our first major winter event and potentially one of the most impactful in a generation, industry leaders are in full preparation mode. WROY/WRUL News checked with several leaders who are already working to get ready for the weather. As of Thursday morning, the National Weather Service out of Paducah is calling for a section of the listening area with a northern boundary line north of Cape Girardeau, Missouri to north of Evansville and south boundary line from south of New Madrid, Missouri to south of Owensboro to receive the highest snow potential. Forecasters are calling for a 69% – 84% chance of 6 inches or more of snow. Hand in hand with the snow, we’re expecting dangerously cold temperatures with wind chill values as low as -7 degrees possible over the weekend.
White County Engineer Brian Ray says his department is in preparation mode making sure plows are mounted and all equipment is in working order. Ray asked for patience from residents on county and township roads and recommends during the weather event sticking to state maintained roads as much as possible. That’s due to a large funding disparity between state and county governments. In 2024, Ray says IDOT trucks maintained 373 miles of roadway in the county while the county was responsible for 328 miles. There were 12 IDOT trucks and only 3 county trucks to clear just 50 fewer miles of roadway. At 30 miles per hour, it takes county trucks 3 and a half hours to cover county roads and that doesn’t include time it takes to drive back to the yard and fill up with salt.
Carmi City Manager Brad Attebury says the best thing folks can do is stay home while crews are working to clear the roads.
“People want to get out and see what’s going on and it can become a challenge for us. As far as the electric side, I don’t think we’re calling for much ice so we should be ok on that. We’ve got guys on stand by. If you’ve got a generator, make sure you’ve got gas on hand.”
John Stockton, of GeneratorJohnny says the storm has the potential to be historic and catastrophic given the amount of snow forecasted, the temperatures, wind, and the susceptibility of the infrastructure. He suggests getting ahold of an electrician,
“The best thing to do, if you’ve got a gas furnace and you can get an electrician out there to put a pigtail on your furnace and you can get a very small generator, run an extension cord to it and you’ll have heat. It’s a simple google search on how to install it. It’s very easy. You just fire up your generator, plug your cord in and you’ll have your furnace; you’ll have heat. Then you can run another cord with a power strip for your tv and necessities and you’ll be good to go.”
You can reach GeneratorJohnny by calling 618-609-9001. He says you can find a good small generator for $300 – $500. And he reminds folks with generators to shut the fuel valve off and let the generator run out of fuel when you’re ready to turn it off so the gas doesn’t set in it.
Alan Wurst, White County’s EMA Director has been in touch with and is monitoring the forecast along with National Weather Service leaders and says he’ll continue providing updates as uncertainty diminishes and weather experts settle in on what to expect. You can follow the White County EMA facebook page here. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581064015692