Kentucky, 1998

Winter Storm in Kentucky, December 23, 1998

December 23, 1998 · NWS LMK · 15 events in 15 counties and zones

Low pressure moving across the Tennesee Valley combined with cold air at the surface across southern Kentucky brought a mixture of freezing rain and sleet to much of southern and eastern Kentucky. Roads quickly became slick and hazardous during the morning and caused multiple automobile accidents across the area.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 15 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
15

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LMK wrote it up.

Low pressure moving across the Tennesee Valley combined with cold air at the surface across southern Kentucky brought a mixture of freezing rain and sleet to much of southern and eastern Kentucky. Roads quickly became slick and hazardous during the morning and caused multiple automobile accidents across the area.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Logan

When
December 23, 9:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Logan forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.860, -86.879 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Simpson

When
December 23, 9:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Simpson forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.742, -86.582 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Allen

When
December 23, 9:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Allen forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.751, -86.190 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Monroe

When
December 23, 9:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.712, -85.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warren

When
December 23, 9:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Warren forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.994, -86.424 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Barren

When
December 23, 9:00 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Barren forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.966, -85.934 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Clinton

When
December 23, 10:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Clinton forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.728, -85.136 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cumberland

When
December 23, 10:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.787, -85.388 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Taylor

When
December 23, 10:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Taylor forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.367, -85.328 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Metcalfe

When
December 23, 10:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Metcalfe forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.991, -85.629 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Adair

When
December 23, 10:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Adair forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
37.104, -85.281 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Boyle

When
December 23, 10:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Boyle forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
37.624, -84.867 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Jessamine

When
December 23, 10:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Jessamine forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
37.872, -84.581 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Garrard

When
December 23, 10:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Garrard forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
37.640, -84.538 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lincoln

When
December 23, 10:00 AM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
37.455, -84.661 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Kentucky in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, December 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5673584, 5673585, 5673586, 5673587, 5673588, 5673589, 5673582, 5673583, 5673590, 5673591, 5673592, 5673593, 5673594, 5673697, 5673698.