Whistling winds gust over campus

Three+students+avoid+loose+tarp+covering+a+fence+in+front+of+Business+and+Economics+building+on+a+windy+Monday+afternoon%2C+November+24%2C+2014.+Photo+by+Marcus+Dorsey

Three students avoid loose tarp covering a fence in front of Business and Economics building on a windy Monday afternoon, November 24, 2014. Photo by Marcus Dorsey

By Cheyene Miller and Anne Halliwell

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Winds that reached speeds greater than 60 miles per hour caused fallen trees and power lines to disrupt traffic in Lexington on Monday.

Chris Bailey, meteorologist and head of WKYT’s First Alert Weather team, said that weather-wise, “things are finally beginning to calm down” despite heavy winds Sunday night and Monday morning.

He added that the strong winds led in a cold front. Those winds, Bailey said, have calmed down and the front is now on its way out.

“Things moving forward look a lot better,” Bailey said.

Bailey said that Versailles Road, on the west side of Fayette County leading into Woodford County, had been the hardest-hit area.

“We had a lot of trees that were knocked down, a few trees that were uprooted,” Bailey said. “At one point in the day, several thousand people in Lexington were without power.”

Lexington police announced over Twitter that fallen trees caused closures on Loudon Road, Greenwich and Russell Avenues, Ironworks Parkway and Russell Avenue, Versailles Road and Village Drive, and Versailles and New Circle Road.

At about 11 a.m., Versailles Road was blocked for several hours after electrical lines fell. The lines’ collapse also caused traffic lights on Versailles Road to go out for several hours, according to Lexington police.

Versailles Road between New Circle Road and Man O’ War Boulevard was shut down at about noon.

At about 5 p.m., Lexington police tweeted that the road was open except for the ramp from inbound Versailles.

UK police chief Joe Monroe told the Kernel that UKPD had not responded to any damage around campus.

According to Bailey, 15,000 people in the Lexington area were reported to have been without power during the day on Monday, but many had their power restored by Monday evening.

Bailey said he and his team predicted the impending weather last week.

“We started seeing it about Thursday of last week and we tried to ramp it up even more to get people’s attention over the next few days,” said Bailey, who noted that the Northeast is expected to get hit with a snow storm over Thanksgiving weekend that could cause flight delays.

He also said the snow storm could mean light flurries.

The National Weather Service forecasts temperatures in the low 50s Sunday with a 40 percent chance of rain. Saturday’s Lexington forecast predicts temperatures in the mid-40s with a 30 percent chance of rain.