Kentucky, 2003Heavy Snow in Kentucky, January 16 to 17, 2003
January 16 to 17, 2003 · NWS JKL · 25 events in 25 counties and zones
A winter storm slammed into eastern Kentucky during the afternoon of Thursday, January 17, 2003 and dumped heavy amounts of snow over the region. The hardest hit areas were the south central and southeastern parts of Kentucky.
Every event with a place to put it; 25 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
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 25
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.
A winter storm slammed into eastern Kentucky during the afternoon of Thursday, January 17, 2003 and dumped heavy amounts of snow over the region. The culprit for the snow was a low pressure system which blazed a trail across the Tennessee Valley and moved to the Mid-Atlantic Coast by midnight.The hardest hit areas were the south central and southeastern parts of Kentucky. Generally speaking, 4 to 8 inches were received south of a line from Somerset to Jackson to Pikeville, with 1 to 4 inches received north of this line. Snowfall rates of about 1 inch per hour were reported in many areas of southeastern Kentucky.
Heavy Snow, Laurel
- When
- January 16, 3:45 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Laurel forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 37.111, -84.118 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 6 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, McCreary
- When
- January 16, 4:05 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- McCreary forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 36.737, -84.484 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 5 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Whitley
- When
- January 16, 4:05 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Whitley forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 36.758, -84.145 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 6 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Wayne
- When
- January 16, 4:10 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Wayne forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 36.801, -84.829 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 7 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Pulaski
- When
- January 16, 5:18 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Pulaski forecast zone
- Reported by
- METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
- Coordinates
- 37.104, -84.577 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 5 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Pike
- When
- January 16, 5:36 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Pike forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 37.469, -82.396 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 7 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Clay
- When
- January 16, 5:55 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Clay forecast zone
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 37.160, -83.715 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 7 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Johnson
- When
- January 16, 6:11 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Johnson forecast zone
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
- Coordinates
- 37.847, -82.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 4 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Leslie
- When
- January 16, 6:15 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Leslie forecast zone
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 37.094, -83.381 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 7 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Bell
- When
- January 16, 6:30 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Bell forecast zone
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 36.731, -83.674 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 6 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Knott
- When
- January 16, 7:20 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Knott forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.354, -82.954 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 5 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Perry
- When
- January 16, 7:23 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Perry forecast zone
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 37.244, -83.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 8 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Breathitt
- When
- January 16, 7:25 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Breathitt forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 37.522, -83.324 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 7 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Letcher
- When
- January 16, 7:35 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Letcher forecast zone
- Reported by
- GENERAL PUBLIC
- Coordinates
- 37.121, -82.855 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 7 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Floyd
- When
- January 16, 7:38 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Floyd forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.557, -82.746 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 8 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Harlan
- When
- January 16, 7:45 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Harlan forecast zone
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
- Coordinates
- 36.857, -83.218 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 7 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Knox
- When
- January 16, 7:55 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Knox forecast zone
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 36.891, -83.854 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 4 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Jackson
- When
- January 16, 8:34 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Jackson forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.420, -84.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 4 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Magoffin
- When
- January 16, 9:25 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Magoffin forecast zone
- Reported by
- METEOROLOGIST(NON NWS)
- Coordinates
- 37.707, -83.065 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 4 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Owsley
- When
- January 16, 9:37 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Owsley forecast zone
- Reported by
- NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
- Coordinates
- 37.419, -83.683 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 4 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Estill
- When
- January 16, 9:45 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Estill forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.693, -83.964 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 4 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Rockcastle
- When
- January 16, 9:55 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Rockcastle forecast zone
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
- Coordinates
- 37.365, -84.316 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 4 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Lee
- When
- January 16, 10:00 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Lee forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.595, -83.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 4 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Wolfe
- When
- January 16, 10:00 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Wolfe forecast zone
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 37.739, -83.493 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 4 inches of snow were reported.
Heavy Snow, Martin
- When
- January 16, 10:45 PM EST to January 17, 12:00 AM EST
- Where
- Martin forecast zone
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
- Coordinates
- 37.802, -82.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
A maximum of 4 inches of snow were reported.
- 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.
- Ice Storm in Kansas, January 16, 20031 death · 2 injured · 1 event
- Ice Storm in Kansas, January 16, 20031 death · 1 event
- Winter Storm in Tennessee, January 16, 200340 events
- Winter Storm in Virginia, January 16 to 17, 200327 events
- Heavy Snow in Tennessee, January 16, 200324 events
- Winter Storm in Kentucky, January 16, 200317 events
- Heavy Snow in Georgia, January 16 to 17, 200317 events
- Ice Storm in Kansas, January 16, 20032 injured · 1 event
- Winter Storm in Virginia, January 16 to 17, 200315 events
- Heavy Snow in North Carolina, January 16 to 17, 200313 events
- Winter Weather in North Carolina, January 16, 200312 events
- Winter Storm in Missouri, January 16, 200310 events
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5339896, 5339899, 5339905, 5339904, 5339902, 5339913, 5339425, 5339909, 5339897, 5339424, 5339894, 5339901, 5339906, 5339898, 5339908, 5339524, 5339895, 5339525, 5339911, 5339900, 5339907, 5339903, 5339910, 5339914, 5339912.