Heavy Snow, Caldwell
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Caldwell forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.145, -87.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in Kentucky, February 4 to 6, 1998
A storm moving slowly northward up the Atlantic coast combined with an east/west oriented trough over the Ohio Valley produced heavy snow over parts of west Kentucky. The heavy snow was confined to areas east of Kentucky Lake, including Hopkinsville and Owensboro.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 13 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 13
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 PAH wrote it up.
A storm moving slowly northward up the Atlantic coast combined with an east/west oriented trough over the Ohio Valley produced heavy snow over parts of west Kentucky. The heavy snow was confined to areas east of Kentucky Lake, including Hopkinsville and Owensboro. Snowfall totals were generally in the 4 to 10 inch range. Specific amounts included 4 inches at Hopkinsville and Princeton, 6 inches at Calhoun, 9 inches at Madisonville, and 10 inches at Henderson, Owensboro, and Central City. During this first major winter storm of 1998, a traffic fatality occurred. One man was killed in a single vehicle accident about 6 miles north of Hopkinsville around 2 P.M. on the 4th. Many schools dismissed early on the 4th and remained closed on the 5th and 6th. A combination of relatively warm ground temperatures and air temperatures near the melting point made snow removal unusually easy for road crews. Even so, rapid snowfall rates during the height of the storm made roads treacherous, and many accidents occurred. Portions of U.S. 41 were closed near Madisonville when several accidents blocked traffic. Kentucky State Police were swamped with reports of vehicles off of roads.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
13 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Calloway
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Calloway forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.621, -88.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Christian
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Christian forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.894, -87.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Crittenden
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Crittenden forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.353, -88.097 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Daviess
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Daviess forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.732, -87.087 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Henderson
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Henderson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.796, -87.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Hopkins
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Hopkins forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.309, -87.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, McLean
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- McLean forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.529, -87.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Muhlenberg
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Muhlenberg forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.216, -87.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Todd
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Todd forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.836, -87.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Trigg
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Trigg forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 36.806, -87.873 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Union
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Union forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.659, -87.945 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Webster
- When
- February 4, 12:00 PM CST to February 6, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Webster forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 37.518, -87.683 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Coastal Flood in Virginia, February 4 to 6, 1998
- Coastal Flood and High Wind in New Jersey, February 4 to 9, 1998
- Coastal Flood and High Wind in Delaware, February 4 to 9, 1998
- Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Virginia, February 4 to 5, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Coastal Flood in Maryland, February 4 to 5, 1998
- Coastal Flood in Maryland, February 4 to 6, 1998
- Flooding in Georgia, February 4 to 8, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Virginia, February 4 to 5, 1998
- Storm Surge in Ohio, February 4 to 5, 1998
- Heavy Rain in Virginia, February 4 to 6, 1998
- High Wind in Puerto Rico, February 4, 1998
- Flash Flooding in Puerto Rico, February 4 to 5, 1998
More
Every storm in Kentucky in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, February 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: 5630178, 5630179, 5630180, 5630181, 5630182, 5630183, 5630184, 5630185, 5630186, 5630187, 5630188, 5630189, 5630190.