In an emergency, call 911.
If it’s not an emergency, but you need help from the county (trees down across the road, power outages, etc.), call dispatch at 349-4403.
Warming Shelters
If there is still power in town, the Lloyd M. Hall Community Center will be opened as a warming shelter.
If the power is out in town, the Magoffin County Fiscal Court room, located in the Magoffin County Court House, Albert Patrick Building, will be opened as a warming shelter since there is a generator there.
Preparations
Have a plan in place, with either a backup heat source or go to another location with a backup heat source before bad weather begins, if at all possible.
If heating with an alternate heat source, such as propane, kerosene, etc., make sure you have a carbon monoxide sensor to alert you if the levels start to get too high. Always crack a window and properly ventilate the area when using these alternate heating methods.
As always, be sure to check on your elderly neighbors and relatives, making sure they have the supplies and ability to weather the potential winter storm where they are or help them relocate to stay in a safer location until the storm is over.
Make sure you have several days’ worth of needed medications with you in case you get snowed in and cannot get back out to the pharmacy. Have enough food and water for your family and animals to sustain a few days in case the roads are too bad to travel or blocked by trees. If it is dangerous for you to drive, it is dangerous for rescue workers and first responders, so it’s not guaranteed someone will be able to get to you during a storm, so try to plan accordingly to keep everyone safe once bad weather hits.
Roads
While state and county road crews will plow and salt the roads, with the lower temperatures forecasted, salt will not melt the ice. Travel is heavily discouraged on Friday, December 23. Watch the weather and avoid driving on slick roads, with rain changing over to snow Thursday night, a strong temperature drop and blowing snow forecasted for Friday and Saturday.
Follow Updates
The SI will continue to share updates to Facebook and Twitter on the weather and roads as information becomes available, but now is a good time to make sure you are subscribed to Magoffin County 911’s alert services. You can go to the following website to sign up or call 349-4403 or the judge’s office at 340-2313 for help signing up for alerts: https://www.smart911.com/smart911/ref/reg.action?pa=MCEM&fbclid=IwAR2nSY5b2t8wNnM4Ffr5_CXstZYOEO6iC0wzSesYsz-21yvKuDqXPuOIDEU.
