PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky is in the midst of a prolonged winter storm that started in some areas on Sunday night and is expected to continue throughout the region until some time Wednesday.

Highway maintenance crews are spot treating and plowing in some counties and performing routine duties in others while on standby for winter weather, according to officials with the Kentucky Department of Highways District 12. By late afternoon Monday it is expected that all crews will be treating and plowing.

“Travel is going to be touch on Tuesday morning, possibly Wednesday morning, too,” said Darold Slone, Engineering Branch manager for Lawrence, Martin, Johnson, and Floyd counties.

A quick-moving band of snow worked its way across the region late Monday morning and into the afternoon. A lull in the snow Monday afternoon gave many a false sense of optimism that this storm would blow over. Not so, said Slone.

Temperatures dropped rapidly throughout the morning on Monday, sliding from the 30s to the mid-20s by early afternoon. Snow showers and squalls increased Monday evening and overnight, and are expected to continue today and tomorrow.

Gusty winds will continue Tuesday and Wednesday and could create blowing and drifting of snow that will add to hazardous travel conditions.

District 12 officials expect snowfall totals for the three-day event in part of Floyd County as well as Martin, Johnson, and Lawrence counties range from four to eight inches.

The southern part of Floyd County as well as Pike, Knott, and Letcher counties may see as much as six to 10 inches of accumulation, particularly in higher elevations toward the Virginia and West Virginia borders.

Snowfall totals are not for Monday or Tuesday, but for “every single flake that falls through Wednesday,” according to meteorologist Chris Bailey of the Kentucky Weather Center.

As snow continues, roadways will remain slick and hazardous. Motorists should always use extra caution while driving in wintry weather. Give snow plows and other heavy equipment plenty of room to maneuver and plenty of time to stop. Do not tailgate any vehicle. Allow ample travel time, and remember that bridges and overpasses typically freeze before surface-level roadways.

Acting Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock said crews will be mobilized as long as snow and ice are a threat.

Although thousands of tons of snow-fighting chemicals have been dispensed during the latest snowstorm, the state has ample stocks of brine, salt and calcium chloride, according to Sara George, public information officer. District 12 manufactures its own brine. Salt and liquid calcium chloride stockpiles are replenished on a continuing basis.

As always, D-12 snowfighters will treat and plow roads according to a pre-determine priority plan which designates each road as an “A,” “B,” or “C” route, depending on the amount of daily traffic which uses the road, she said.

The district cleans and plows more than 2,000 miles of road (lane miles). If you live on a state road and are not sure whether it is an “A,” “B,” or “C” route, snow and ice maps which show each state road in District 12 are on the internet at http://transportation.ky.gov/d12/snow_removal.htm