Sunday updates: JCPS cancels school Monday; 140,000 customers still without power

Jefferson County Public Schools announced Sunday it will cancel school Monday as the region continues to cope with the aftermath of storms that moved through the area Friday. Bullitt County also announced it will cancel school.

Get the latest info:Monday Kentucky storm update: JCPS closed; 81,000 without power

Power crews in Louisville and around the state continue to work Sunday after Friday's high-speed wind storm turned off the lights for hundreds of thousands of Kentucky residents.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Louisville Gas & Electric spokesperson Liz Pratt described efforts to restore power as a "multi-day" process during separate press conferences Saturday. At one point, according to power outage aggregator poweroutage.us, more than 500,000 people in the commonwealth were without electricity.

7:30 p.m.: Schools cancel classes Monday

Jefferson County Public Schools announced classes will be canceled Monday. A release Sunday evening said that there are nine schools without or with partial power and another 25 without internet access.

"While crews continue to work throughout the night to restore power to as many schools as possible, we know our families and staff were impacted by the storm," a release from Carolyn Callahan, JCPS spokeswoman said. "We want to support our families and staff, so all JCPS schools will be closed Monday, March 6, 2023. This day will operate like a traditional snow day with no NTI for students and staff."

Callahan said in the release that the KHSAA Regional Basketball Tournament will continue Monday, but all other activities are canceled.

Bullitt County Schools announced it will close schools Monday due to power not yet restored to all its facilities along with systems issues and impassible bus routes.

3:30 p.m.: 140K still without power across Kentucky

Noting Friday's storm is the third most impactful weather event in the last 20 years, LG&E spokesperson Liz Pratt said of the 341,000 LG&E and KU Energy customers initially affected by Friday's storms, more than 200,000 are now restored.

While the outage map on the utility's website will start showing customers estimated repair times, Pratt declined to give a timetable on when repairs will be completed. She noted higher priority locations, including nursing homes, fire stations and hospitals, are addressed first, followed by residential customers.

Through a mutual aid partnership, 1,500 technicians and support personnel from out of state are working on repairs in Kentucky, Pratt said. The storm downed 2,500 power lines and snapped over 230 utility poles.

Fewer than 10 roads were still blocked due to tree debris in Jefferson County, public works officials said Sunday. Intermingling with electrical wires is delaying those roads for being cleared, said spokesman Sal Melendez.

Crews will start working on clearing alleys Monday. The city will open seven sites for yard waste drop-off, which will operate 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Full details are available on the city's website.

• Shawnee Park: 4501 West Broadway

• Public Works Yard: 10500 Lower River Road (enter from Bethany Lane)

• Near Fairdale Elementary: 10618 W. Manslick Road

• Fern Creek Park: 8703 Ferndale Road

• Smith Creek Compost Facility: 13312 Aiken Road (tree debris only; bulky waste not accepted)

• Public Works Yard: 595 N. Hubbards Lane

• Waste Reduction Center: 636 Meriwether Ave.

For those in the urban service district, weekly yard waste collection will resume Monday.

As of mid afternoon Sunday, Jefferson County Public Schools officials were still evaluating if schools would operate as normal Monday.

Officials said 19 schools had partial or no power, down from a high of about 40. Internet was down at about 25 schools and a handful have reported downed power lines nearby.

"If we cannot safely have school tomorrow, we will not," district spokeswoman Carolyn Callahan said.

To help those experiencing food challenges due to the storm, the Dare to Care food bank is dispatching its mobile pantry March 6-7.

• Catholic Enrichment Center, 3146 West Broadway, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

• Newburg Community Center, 4810 Exeter Ave., 1-3 p.m.

• St. Stephen’s Baptist Church, 1015 S. 18th St., 5-7 p.m.

Existing mobile pantry stops scheduled for March 7 will be fortified.

• Portland PACT, 2500 Portland Ave., 10-11:30 a.m.

• Holy Name Catholic Church, 2933 S. Fourth St., 1:30-2:30 p.m.

12:40 p.m.: 227,000 customers across Kentucky without power

Efforts to get the grid back up and running continue Sunday. According to poweroutage.us, about 227,000 homes across the state are still without power as of about 12:40 p.m.

About 30 local schools are still without power, Jefferson County Public Schools spokesperson Carolyn Callahan said Sunday morning. The district, which called off classes Friday, has not said whether school will be in session Monday.

“We will continue to monitor this situation throughout the day. Our crew and LG&E are working as quickly and safely as they can,” Callahan said in an email.

The work continues in Louisville and the surrounding region. Here's a quick look at how many local homes are still without power as of 12:40 p.m., according to LG&E and KU's updating outage map.

• Jefferson County - 65,115

• Oldham County - 6,284

• Shelby County - 496

• Spencer County - 257

• Bullitt County - 1,827

• Hardin County - 2,321

• Meade County - 86

LG&E provides status updates during outages by texting STATUS to 4LGEKU (454358).

Pratt on Saturday said LG&E would prioritize restoring power to essential locations like hospitals and nursing homes but would work to turn the lights back on around the city as quickly as possible. The Friday storm accounted for the third-most significant power outage event in the past 20 years, she added.

What happened Friday?

A strong storm ripped through Kentucky on Friday, dropping several inches of rain throughout the state. High-speed winds followed, dropping trees and power lines and causing widespread damage.

At least five people were killed due to the storm, Beshear said Saturday: a 23-year-old man in Edmonson County, a 63-year-old man in Logan County, an 84-year-old man in Bath County, a 68-year-old man in Simpson County and a 41-year-old woman in Fayette County.

Louisville officials do not believe the storm caused any deaths in Jefferson County, but it did lead to widespread property damage and at least two major interstate closures Friday, as wind speeds in the region peaked at 79 mph.

Schools were out Friday in anticipation of the storm but were expected to be back in session Monday.

Reporters Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez and Matthew Glowicki contributed.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: School closings: JCPS cancels school Monday