Light snow fell across the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. Snowfall accumulations totaled less than one half of an inch.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS LMK wrote it up.
Light snow fell across the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. Snowfall accumulations totaled less than one half of an inch. However, slick roads contributed to an automobile accident that caused one fatality.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Louisville, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 5, 6:31 PM EST, 2 hours 29 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 631 PM EST SAT DEC 5 2009 ...UPDATED AVIATION DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT AND SUNDAY)... HIGH PRESSURE WILL MOVE ACROSS THE STATE THIS EVENING BRINGIN CLEAR SKIES AND CALMING WINDS THAT WILL ALLOW FOR QUICK RADIATIONAL COOLING. AFTERNOON DEWPOINTS SO FAR ARE IN THE MID TEENS...WHICH WOULD ARGUE FOR LOWS DOWN IN THAT RANGE BY DAYBREAK. HOWEVER...MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT BRINGING A WEAK VORTMAX ACROSS THE REGION AND THUS WOULD SEE SOME UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS MOVE IN SOME TIME AFTER MIDNIGHT. THESE CLOUDS WOULD SLOW THE DROP IN TEMPS...BUT STILL FORECASTING THE COLDEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR SO FAR. THE HIGH WILL SHIFT EAST OF THE REGION SUNDAY...BRINGING WARMER TEMPERATURES THOUGH READINGS WILL STILL BE ABOUT 5 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. .LONG TERM (SUNDAY NIGHT - SATURDAY)... A VERY BUSY LONG TERM PERIOD AS A PATTERN OF WET UNSETTLED WEATHER CONTINUES. THE STRONGEST STORM SYSTEM LOOKS TO COME ON TUES NIGHT/WED WITH THE GREATEST THREAT BEING STRONG WINDS. SUNDAY NIGHT - WEDNESDAY... THE FIRST STORM SYSTEM TO AFFECT OUR AREA WILL COME SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON. NOT A WHOLE LOT OF CHANGES TO THIS SYSTEM. IT STILL LOOKS LIKE A MIX OF RAIN/SNOW THROUGH MID MORNING ON MONDAY...THEN ENDING WITH LIGHT RAIN. TEMP PROFILES ARE RUNNING A TAD COOLER THAN PREVIOUSLY...SO IF THIS VERIFIES WE COULD SEE MORE SNOW THAN RAIN MONDAY MORNING. PRECIPITATION WILL BE LIGHT IN NATURE WITH LITTLE TO NO SNOW ACCUMULATIONS EXPECTED. WILL INCLUDE A STATEMENT IN THE HWO ABOUT SLICK SPOTS MONDAY MORNING ESPECIALLY ON BRIDGES/OVERPASSES SINCE WE WILL GET DOWN INTO THE UPPER 20S TO LOW 30S FOR LOWS MONDAY MORNING. THE SECOND SYSTEM WILL BE THE ONE TO WATCH IN THE LONG TERM PERIOD BECAUSE OF THE STRONG WIND POTENTIAL. A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL TRAVERSE THE LOWER PLAINS TUES...APPROACHING OUR AREA TUES NIGHT. THIS SYSTEM IS CHARACTERIZED BY A SPLIT UPPER JET STRUCTURE...AT LEAST A 60 KT H85 JET...PWATS AROUND 1 INCH...PLENTIFUL 0-6KM SHEAR...AND A THIN STREAM OF CAPE. ALL OF THESE FACTORS WOULD POINT TO A POSSIBLE COOL SEASON SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK. SEVERAL ANALOGS AGREE WITH THIS SEVERE THREAT. WE/RE STILL 4-5 DAYS OUT FROM THIS SYSTEM THOUGH SO WE/RE NOT 100% CONFIDENT THAT SUCH AN EVENT WOULD OCCUR...HOWEVER THE SIGNAL IS PERSISTENT AND DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO WATCH IN THE COMING DAYS. AT THE VERY LEAST...WE MAY HAVE CONVECTIVE RAIN SHOWERS MIXING DOWN WINDS OF 30-40 MPH. IF CONVECTION WOULD BECOME STRONG ENOUGH...IT WOULDN/T BE HARD TO MIX DOWN 50-60 KT WINDS JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE. BE PREPARED FOR WINDY...WET CONDITIONS TUESDAY NIGHT. WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG THROUGH WED NIGHT. THE MAIN RAINFALL...AROUND 1-2 INCHES POSSIBLE....WILL FALL LATE TUES AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING. LIGHT PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE ON WED AND TAPER OFF WEDNESDAY NIGHT. WITH THE COLD FRONT OF THIS SYSTEM PASSING THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...LEFT OVER PRECIP WILL LIKELY CHANGE TO LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS WED EVENING BEFORE ENDING. TEMPS THROUGH THE PERIOD WILL LIKELY BE IN THE 40S TO AROUND 50 FOR HIGHS AND MID 20S TO LOW 40S FOR LOWS. TEMPS WILL BE TRICKY TUES NIGHT AS A SURGE OF WARM AIR MAKES IT/S WAY INTO THE REGION AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. HAVE INCLUDED A NON-DIURNAL TEMP CURVE TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS. THURSDAY - SATURDAY... YET ANOTHER SOUTHERN STREAM SYSTEM WILL AFFECT THE AREA ON FRIDAY NIGHT/SAT. AT THIS POINT...IT DOES LOOK LIKE SOME FROZEN PRECIP WOULD BE POSSIBLE. TEMPS LOOK TO REMAIN BELOW NORMAL IN THE LAST PART OF THE LONG TERM. && .AVIATION (00Z TAF ISSUANCE)... VFR THRU THE PERIOD. RIDGE OF HI PRES ACRS THE REGION WILL MOVE TO THE MID ATLANTIC STATES BY END OF PERIOD...RESULTING IN NEARLY CALM WINDS TNGT AND LIGHT SELY FLOW SUN. && .LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... KY...NONE. IN...NONE. && SHORT TERM........RJS LONG TERM.........AML AVIATION..........DK/11
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY 346 PM EST SAT DEC 5 2009 INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067- 070>078-081-082-062045- ORANGE IN-WASHINGTON IN-SCOTT IN-JEFFERSON IN-DUBOIS IN- CRAWFORD IN-PERRY IN-HARRISON IN-FLOYD IN-CLARK IN-HANCOCK KY- BRECKINRIDGE KY-MEADE KY-OHIO KY-GRAYSON KY-HARDIN KY-BULLITT KY- JEFFERSON KY-OLDHAM KY-TRIMBLE KY-HENRY KY-SHELBY KY-FRANKLIN KY- SCOTT KY-HARRISON KY-SPENCER KY-ANDERSON KY-WOODFORD KY- FAYETTE KY-BOURBON KY-NICHOLAS KY-NELSON KY-WASHINGTON KY- MERCER KY-JESSAMINE KY-CLARK KY-LARUE KY-MARION KY-BOYLE KY- GARRARD KY-MADISON KY-BUTLER KY-EDMONSON KY-HART KY-GREEN KY- TAYLOR KY-CASEY KY-LINCOLN KY-LOGAN KY-WARREN KY-SIMPSON KY- ALLEN KY-BARREN KY-MONROE KY-METCALFE KY-ADAIR KY-RUSSELL KY- CUMBERLAND KY-CLINTON KY- 346 PM EST SAT DEC 5 2009 /246 PM CST SAT DEC 5 2009/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. A FAST MOVING WEATHER SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO AFFECT THE AREA LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MORNING. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING A WINTRY MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW TO THE AREA. ALTHOUGH LITTLE TO NO SNOW ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED...DRIVERS SHOULD WATCH OUT FOR SLICK SPOTS ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES DURING THE MONDAY MORNING COMMUTE. A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL AFFECT THE AREA TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. STRONG TO SEVERE STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE TUESDAY NIGHT WITH DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE PRIMARY THREAT AND HEAVY RAINFALL A SECONDARY THREAT. THE COLD FRONT OF THIS STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE THROUGH WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON WITH GUSTY WINDS AHEAD OF AND BEHIND THE FRONT LASTING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. EXPECT SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 TO 35 MPH WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE NEEDED MONDAY MORNING AS WELL AS TUESDAY NIGHT. AML
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Light snow fell during the day with accumulations of less than one half inch. This snow across the Bluegrass Region brought slick roads that lead to an automobile accident on The Mountain Parkway Highway 10 miles east of Winchester. A fatality occurred.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Weather, Clark | 2009-12-05 | 52 | Male | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, December 2009
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: 201855.