Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton presented the findings of a “military style review” of the city’s winter storm response during a news conference on Monday, April 13.
The review follows ongoing struggles in Lexington to properly clear streets after multiple snow and ice storms over the past two years.
“While winter’s ice has melted, unfortunately, the problems with our winter weather response did not disappear with it,” Gorton said in a news release Monday. “That will take work. Today we’re taking the first of many steps before winter returns.”
As part of those initial steps, Gorton said she will ask the Urban County Council on Tuesday to approve agreements with eight contractors, expanding the city’s capacity to respond to snow, ice storms, and other weather-related emergencies.
Gorton also plans to increase funding for the city’s winter storm response and preparedness efforts.
Susan Straub, Lexington’s communications director, told CivicLex that Gorton will propose allocating about $5.1 million in next year’s budget. The mayor is set to deliver her annual budget address on Tuesday, April 14. Straub said the proposed funding marks an increase of nearly $2 million.
The announcement came alongside the release of the city’s internal “After Action Review,” which began on February 8 and gathered feedback from more than 100 drivers, operators, supervisors, and managers, including senior leadership.
In the coming weeks, Gorton said she will form a work group made up of Councilmembers and key city staff to start implementing the review’s recommendations.
When asked by CivicLex whether the work group’s meetings would be open to the public, Gorton said they will remain internal.
Where did Lexington’s winter storm response break down?
The After Action Review focused on how the city handled Winter Storm Fern, which hit Lexington between January 24 and 26.
Over the past two years, Lexington has faced repeated challenges responding to winter weather, including Winter Storm Blair in early 2025 and a March 17 storm this year that led to more than 150 crashes on icy roads. That storm ultimately triggered the resignation of the city’s Environmental Quality and Public Works Commissioner, along with other leadership changes.
The city’s emergency management director, Robert Larkin, led the review, which centers on the response to Winter Storm Fern.
According to the report, Winter Storm Fern brought moderate snowfall totals to Lexington, ranging from 4.5 to 6 inches. However, the storm also left behind a quarter-inch layer of ice, followed by an extended stretch of extreme cold that limited crews’ ability to treat the roads.
“These conditions resulted in persistent compaction of snow and ice, formation of hardened surfaces, and the development of deep ruts that required mechanical removal,” the reviews states. “As a result, recovery operations extended well beyond the end of precipitation and required sustained, resource-intensive effort.”
Still, the review makes clear that weather alone did not cause the response issues.
“The primary limitation during the event was not solely environmental conditions, but the absence of a clearly defined, adaptable operational strategy,” the review states.
The review identified six major findings related to the city’s preparation, response and storm clean-up:
- Lack of an adaptable operational strategy reduced effectiveness. One example includes the repeated treatment of priority routes, even when cold conditions limited their effectiveness.
- Resource capacity and logistical constraints. An example includes limited staffing levels for ongoing, high-tempo operations across all routes, with a recommendation that contractors should be used to fill personnel gaps.
- Operational execution never established snow plan priorities. An unclear management structure resulted in problems with coordination, inconsistent priorities, and inefficiencies with the city’s partners.
- Communication was inconsistent and was out of step with actual operational conditions. The review states: “Internal and external communication lacked consistency, structure, and alignment with actual operational conditions, impacting coordination and public expectations.”
- Workforce and training gaps. There was a mix of training, experience, and staffing levels that reduced response consistency and effectiveness during the event.
- Lack of an incident management structure to coordinate operations. The review states that “the absence of a formalized incident management structure resulted in fragmented coordination, inconsistent priorities, and limited alignment across departments and external partners.”
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