Heavy Snow in Kentucky, December 12 to 14, 2010

Name: Heavy Snow in Kentucky, December 12 to 14, 2010
Start: 2010-12-12T20:00
End: 2010-12-14T08:00
Location: Kentucky

December 12 to 14, 2010 · NWS JKL · 24 events in 13 counties and zones

On Saturday December the 11th, a strong low pressure system pushed through eastern Kentucky. A sharp transition after frontal and a prolonged up slope event took place after frontal passage.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 24 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: 24

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 JKL wrote it up.

On Saturday December the 11th, a strong low pressure system pushed through eastern Kentucky. A sharp transition after frontal and a prolonged up slope event took place after frontal passage. The amount of moisture wrapped around the low and the strong northwest flow prompted an issuance of winter storm warnings in the the eastern mountain counties where 6 to 12 inches were expected in the mountains and 4 to 6 were expected in the lower elevations. A winter weather advisory was issued for the other counties with 3 to 6 inches expected. The event began around 7 pm Sunday and the heavier snow began around 11 pm Sunday and lasted till about 8 am Monday morning. The event ended by 9 pm Monday evening.

What forecasters said that day

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 Jackson, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 12, 6:46 PM EST, 1 hour 14 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 12, 6:46 PM EST, 1 hour 14 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 12, 4:33 PM EST, 3 hours 27 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

24 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Breathitt

When: December 12, 8:00 PM EST to December 13, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Breathitt forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 37.522, -83.324 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snow fall was 6.5 inches.

Heavy Snow, Leslie

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 6:03 AM EST
Where: Leslie forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 37.094, -83.381 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The storm total snowfall as of 6AM was 7.8 inches.

Heavy Snow, Perry

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 6:41 AM EST
Where: Perry forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.244, -83.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The 12 hour snowfall total was 6 inches ending at 630 PM.

Heavy Snow, Estill

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Estill forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 37.693, -83.964 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 6.5 inches.

Heavy Snow, McCreary

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 8:24 AM EST
Where: McCreary forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 36.737, -84.484 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 9.5 inches.

Heavy Snow, Lee

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 8:30 AM EST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 37.595, -83.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 9.8 inches.

Heavy Snow, Bell

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 9:00 AM EST
Where: Bell forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.731, -83.674 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 10 inches.

Heavy Snow, Leslie

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 9:46 AM EST
Where: Leslie forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.094, -83.381 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 9 inches.

Heavy Snow, Leslie

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Leslie forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.094, -83.381 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A member of the public reported a snowfall of 12 inches as of 10 AM this morning in a valley location in Thousandsticks.

Heavy Snow, Lee

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 10:45 AM EST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 37.595, -83.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall over the past 16 hours was 12.2 inches.

Heavy Snow, Perry

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 11:12 AM EST
Where: Perry forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.244, -83.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 7 inches.

Heavy Snow, Bell

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 11:21 AM EST
Where: Bell forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 36.731, -83.674 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 12 inches.

Heavy Snow, Harlan

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 11:50 AM EST
Where: Harlan forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.857, -83.218 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 9 inches.

Heavy Snow, Bell

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 1:30 PM EST
Where: Bell forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.731, -83.674 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 7.5 inches.

Heavy Snow, Knott

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 5:56 PM EST
Where: Knott forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.354, -82.954 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 8 inches.

Heavy Snow, Harlan

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 13, 9:00 PM EST
Where: Harlan forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 36.857, -83.218 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 15.5 inches.

Heavy Snow, Powell

When: December 12, 9:00 PM EST to December 14, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Powell forecast zone
Reported by: Fire Department/Rescue
Coordinates: 37.831, -83.824 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The storm total was 6 inches with a snow depth of 5 inches at 8 am on the 14th.

Heavy Snow, Breathitt

When: December 12, 10:00 PM EST to December 13, 5:54 AM EST
Where: Breathitt forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 37.522, -83.324 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The 12 hour snowfall was through 550am. There was 6.5 inches total and 4.2 inches since 1 am.

Heavy Snow, Leslie

When: December 12, 10:00 PM EST to December 13, 6:03 AM EST
Where: Leslie forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 37.094, -83.381 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The storm total snowfall through 6am was 7.8 inches.

Heavy Snow, Perry

When: December 12, 10:00 PM EST to December 13, 6:41 AM EST
Where: Perry forecast zone
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 37.244, -83.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 6 inches in 12 hours.

Heavy Snow, Wolfe

When: December 12, 10:00 PM EST to December 13, 6:50 AM EST
Where: Wolfe forecast zone
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 37.739, -83.493 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall accumulation was 5 inches in 12 hours.

Heavy Snow, Pulaski

When: December 12, 10:00 PM EST to December 13, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Pulaski forecast zone
Reported by: County Official
Coordinates: 37.104, -84.577 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall accumulation was 5 inches in 12 hours.

Heavy Snow, Lee

When: December 12, 10:00 PM EST to December 13, 7:09 AM EST
Where: Lee forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 37.595, -83.716 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall accumulation was 7 inches.

Heavy Snow, Letcher

When: December 12, 10:00 PM EST to December 13, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Letcher forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.121, -82.855 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The total snowfall was 7 inches.

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

Every storm in Kentucky in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Kentucky, December 2010

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 267704, 267710, 267711, 267712, 267713, 267714, 267716, 267718, 267720, 267721, 267722, 267723, 267724, 267726, 267727, 267728, 267729, 265098, 265099, 267051, 267052, 267053, 267054, 267725.