© 2024 Louisville Public Media

Public Files:
89.3 WFPL · 90.5 WUOL-FM · 91.9 WFPK

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact info@lpm.org or call 502-814-6500
89.3 WFPL News | 90.5 WUOL Classical 91.9 WFPK Music | KyCIR Investigations
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Stream: News Music Classical

Extreme Cold Leads to Water Main Breaks in Louisville

Update 1:40 p.m.: It's Not Quite as ColdThe Wind Chill Warning covering Louisville and the surrounding area expired Tuesday morning.At 1 p.m., the temperature in Louisville was 11 and the wind chill was -2, according to the National Weather Service. The high temperature is forecast to be 14 degrees on Tuesday. The high temperature for Wednesday in Louisville is forecast to be 34 degrees, the weather service said.The weather service added that Louisville has some possibility for wintry mixes on Thursday and Friday.But the high temperature on Saturday is forecast to be a relatively balmy 50 degrees, the weather service said.Update 1:28 p.m.: 7 Water Main BreaksThe Louisville Water Co. is working Tuesday to repair seven water main breaks across the area, a spokeswoman said.It'll take most of the day to get them fixed, she added. The cold weather adds an extra challenge for the water company crews.The water company is getting multiple calls Tuesday from people reporting no water service, said the spokeswoman, Kelley Dearing-Smith. Crews generally check those reports, but the issue is usually a frozen service line on the customer's property. It can take a while for those to thaw, Dearing-Smith said.Update 12:35 p.m.: Update from Louisville MetroSafe/EMAThis morning, Louisville MetroSafe/EMA director Debbie Fox said water main breaks had become an issue Tuesday because of the extreme cold. She said about a half dozen had been reported to Louisville authorities. She also gave some interesting stats—calls for service from police, EMS and such have decreased since the cold snap began. But certain types of runs have increased—for instance, Louisville Fire & Rescue had responded to eight structure fires during the extreme cold.And Louisville Metro Police have had a steep increase in runs to stranded motorists. As of Tuesday morning, EMS had responded to four calls for people possibly suffering from exposure.Earlier: Many Louisville area school districts remain closed Tuesday because of extremely cold weather—which is forecast to move out of the area in the next day or so. At least, the "extreme" part.At 6 a.m., the temperature in Louisville was -1 degrees with a wind chill of -17.Closed school districts: Jefferson County Public Schools, Jefferson County Catholic schools, Oldham County, Bullitt County, Greater Clark, New Albany-Floyd County, Clarksville Community, Nelson County, Spencer County, Shelby County. The forecast high temperature is 11 degrees, which is warmer than Monday's daytime high in the low single-digits, according to the National Weather Service. On Wednesday, the weather service forecasts a high temperature of 34.The Wind Chill Warningwarning in effect since early morning Monday is scheduled to expire at 10 a.m. Tuesday.Here's Monday's coverage of the extreme cold.

Joseph Lord is the online managing editor for WFPL.