A Terrifying, Deadly Storm Struck Kentucky In 2009… And No One Saw It Coming
By Jenn Shockley|Published June 06, 2016
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Jenn Shockley
Author
I am somewhat a cliche'. I grew up running around barefoot on a farm in Kentucky.
I love writing, art, sunshine, all animals and my incredibly patient husband, who tolerates my "crazy animal lady" side.
Kentucky is known for having four seasons and what some call a mild winter. However, in 2009, the winter was anything but mild. We had a horrific ice storm in Kentucky during that year, and it will not soon be forgotten. The 2009 ice storm was devastating for the entire state on many levels. People were trapped without power, cold, hungry and in more rural areas, desperately praying to survive.
Here are a few facts about the worst ice storm in Kentucky history:
Our entire state was coated in a thick layer of ice. The trees, power lines, homes, roads, trees and even flowers froze solid. Tree limbs were so weighted down from the ice that many fell, blocking travel. The ice was both beautiful and deadly.
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Kentucky residents were powerless during and after the storm.
The heavy ice caused power lines to snap all across the state. There were over 700,000 homes and businesses without power. Over 200,000 of those individuals were in the city of Louisville. Several hundred thousand were left without power for 10 days and longer. We knew people that had no power for over 2 weeks, and some rural areas were reportedly worse.
During the outages, Kentucky’s power companies had to call in backup support. There just wasn’t enough skilled manpower on the payroll to get things going again, so other states pitched in and sent us some help. Even regular citizens that happened to have plows took to the streets to aid in getting Kentucky moving again. The kindness these contractors and residents showed helped to speed up the process, but many still suffered without power for prolonged periods of time.
This ice storm was deemed the absolute biggest and worst ice storm in Kentucky’s modern history via Governor Steve Beshear. The western part of the Bluegrass State was actually hardest hit. Elder trees were not strong enough to withstand the weight of the ice; both branches and entire trees fell to the ground. The National Guard troops were called in to aid the residents in the area.
If you wanted bread and milk, you had to make it to the stores and pray they received stock. The shelves were picked clean of specific survival foods. Some stores couldn’t get supplies, making the situation even more dire. Those who gardened and canned their own food had it much better than those who depended on Kroger for their nutrition. Many country folk simply went to their cellars to fetch vegetables and fruits canned during previous years. Having the skills to cook on an open fire was also a major bonus. People really should learn from this.
There were 24 lives lost due to traffic accidents, hypothermia and carbon monoxide poisoning. Citizens utilized kerosene heaters to stay warm when they had them. If you had a working fireplace, you were one of the blessed. At least one death was caused from someone burning wood and debris in their home without proper ventilation. They chose a warm death over freezing to death.
It took some time to get the ice cleared away, and even then, things weren’t the same for awhile. The horrific ice storm in Kentucky really left its mark on the residents, especially those who suffered the longest. How did you do during the 2009 ice storm in Kentucky?
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