PADUCAH, KY - It looks like western Kentucky may dodge a bullet when it comes to the icy winter weather in the forecast for portions of Illinois and Missouri later this week.

The National Weather Service office in Paducah indicates a large ice event could be unfolding especially over central and southeast Missouri, along with southern Illinois.  Under the current forecast models, the Illinois counties along the Ohio River should be spared any freezing rain.  

Off to the north and west, however, a Winter Storm Watch has already been issued, and ice accumulations of at least a half inch are in the forecast over a multi-day event through possibly Monday.

The half inch mark for ice is usually when power outages and other damage starts, exponentially getting worse as you make your way toward an inch of accumulation.

As of right now, forecasters say Paducah and all of western Kentucky is in the clear, but they advise everyone to stay tuned in case the models begin shifting the ice forecast further south.