Storm Octavia forces GM to idle plants in Kentucky, Tennessee

DETROIT — An ice and snow storm rambling through the mid-South forced General Motors to halt production in Bowling Green, Ky., and Spring Hill, Tenn., Monday.

Second-shift workers who assemble the Chevrolet Corvette in Bowling Green were told not to report Monday and both shifts will be canceled Tuesday, said GM spokesman David Darovitz. Maintenance workers were told to report to their regularly assigned shifts.

Production at the Kentucky plant is expected to resume Wednesday.

In Spring Hill, where workers produce the Chevrolet Equinox, four-cylinder engines, metal stampings, plastic molding and paint bumper fascias, there was no production scheduled on the second and third shifts.

Winter storm Octavia dumped more than 6 inches of snow in a swath from Missouri to Kentucky. A mix of sleet and freezing rain has already slickened roads and triggered power outages in Arkansas and Tennessee.

Three to 5 inches had fallen across the Louisville metro area by early Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service reported. Snowfall was forecast to peak at 2 inches each hour in much of Kentucky later Monday.

Bitter cold should take hold after the snowfall, with subzero wind chills expected Tuesday night through Friday morning. Temperatures are not expected to break above freezing until Saturday, chilling snow removal efforts, Louisville city officials said Monday morning.

The impact on auto output from this winter’s weather has been negligible compared to last year. In January 2014, widespread weather-related shutdowns contributed to a 5.1 percent decline in national auto production from January 2013.