The first significant snow storm of the 2010-11 winter season dumped between 2 and 12 inches of snow on eastern Kentucky on December 12th and 13th. The highest snowfall totals occurred in Bell, Lee, and Leslie, and McCreary counties where 10-12 inches were reported.
Every event with a place to put it; 55 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 JKL wrote it up.
The first significant snow storm of the 2010-11 winter season dumped between 2 and 12 inches of snow on eastern Kentucky on December 12th and 13th. The highest snowfall totals occurred in Bell, Lee, and Leslie, and McCreary counties where 10-12 inches were reported. There were several culprits for this snow event, as areas of low pressure moving across the lower Great Lakes and up the eastern slopes of the Appalachian Mountains combined forces over the Ohio and Tennessee valleys. The highest snowfall totals occurred along the Kentucky River basin as an intense band of moderate to heavy snowfall remained in place there during the overnight hours.
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, 3:34 AM EST, 26 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 334 AM EST SUN DEC 12 2010 .SHORT TERM.../TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY/...UPDATED THE MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE TIMING OF THIS SYSTEM THROUGH THE AREA. AT 3 AM...THE COLD FRONT BISECTED CENTRAL KENTUCKY FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. THE FORECAST GETS A LITTLE TRICKY AS TO HOW MUCH OF A DRY SLOT IS GOING TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY BEFORE THE SURFACE TROUGH AND WRAP AROUND MOISTURE MOVES INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST. THE PREFRONTAL SHOWERS WHICH ARE CURRENTLY MOVING ACROSS THE AREA BECOMING LIGHTER AND MORE INTERMITTENT. WHEN THE FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA...EXPECT A TEMPORARY BURST OF PRECIPITATION. THE TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN STAYING WARM ENOUGH THAT THERE REALLY HAS NOT BEEN ANY SNOW WITH THE FRONT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS ABOVE 2000 FEET. THIS IS REALLY A BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WAS EXPECTED AND AS A RESULT THIS WILL REALLY HELP TO KEEP THE SNOW TOTALS DOWN UNTIL LATER IN THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING. THE SECONDARY TROUGH WILL BE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT AND THIS IS WHAT WILL RESULT IN THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF SNOWFALL...AS WELL AS SOME BLOWING SNOW. ONCE THE TROUGH MOVES THROUGH...THE WINDS SHIFT OVER TO THE NORTHWEST AND SETS UP AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF UPSLOPE SNOW. THIS IS WHY THE HIGHER ELEVATION COUNTIES ARE IN THE WARNING AND EVERYONE ELSE IS IN THE ADVISORY. FOR TEMPS JUST MADE SLIGHT ADJUSTMENTS TO THE PREVIOUS FORECAST. I USED A BLEND OF THE MOS AND THE RAW NAM OUTPUT FOR THE TEMPERATURE FORECASTS. .LONG TERM.../TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/ BASED ON CONTINUED MODEL AGREEMENT ON SYSTEM FOR MIDWEEK...WENT AHEAD AND BUMPED POPS UP TO LIKELY. IT LOOKS AS IF PRECIP MAY START AS SNOW WEDNESDAY NIGHT...THEN TRANSITION TO RAIN/FREEZING RAIN BY DAYBREAK THURSDAY. DESPITE THE STRONG SURGE OF WARM AIR ALOFT...MANY OF THE VALLEYS MAY STRUGGLE TO GET TEMPERATURES TO THE FREEZING MARK WITH THE FRESH SNOW COVER AND THUS...COULD EXPERIENCE A LONGER PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. SOME ICE ACCUMULATION WOULD CERTAINLY BE POSSIBLE. BY MIDDAY THURSDAY...WE SHOULD BEGIN TO SCOUR OUT THE COLD AIR IN THE VALLEYS. MID LEVEL MOISTURE WILL BE PEELING OUT...PERHAPS LEAVING SOME DRIZZLE THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY. PREVIOUS LONG TERM DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... AMPLIFIED PATTERN WILL TRANSITION TO MORE OF A ZONAL FLOW THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK...BEFORE AMPLIFYING ONCE AGAIN BY NEXT WEEKEND. THE MODELS BEGIN IN DECENT AGREEMENT...HOWEVER BY THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK...THE OPERATIONAL GFS AND ECMWF BECOME OUT OF PHASE WITH EACH OTHER...WITH THE GFS MUCH MORE PROGRESSIVE. GIVEN THE UNCERTAINTY...ESPECIALLY CONCERNING THE DETAILS...HAVE RELIED MORE ON THE INHERITED FORECAST AND THE SMOOTHED OUT ENSEMBLE MEANS. AN INVERTED TROUGH SILL SHARPEN UP ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND EVENTUALLY WILL NOSE IN ACROSS THE TENNESSEE VALLEY. AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE WILL TRACK ALONG THE BOUNDARY...BRINGING AT LEAST LIGHT PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA. GIVEN THE COLD AIR IN PLACE...AND THE STRENGTH OF THE WARM NOSE...MIXED PRECIPITATION IS LOOKING LIKE A GOOD BET...ESPECIALLY NORTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY. HAVE INCREASED BEST POPS TO 50 PERCENT BY THURSDAY...AND WILL CONTINUE TO MENTION FREEZING RAIN AS A POSSIBILITY. WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR BETTER MODEL CONTINUITY BEFORE WORRYING ABOUT AMOUNTS AND TIMING...AS ANY CHANGES IN THE POSITION OF THE BOUNDARY AS WELL AS THE LOW TRACK WILL DRASTICALLY SHIFT RAIN/SNOW/FREEZING RAIN LINES. ONCE THE MAIN SYSTEM PULLS AWAY THURSDAY NIGHT...A FEW LINGERING LIGHT RAIN/SNOW SHOWERS IN COLD AIR ADVECTION LOOK TO HANG AROUND THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...BEFORE ENDING BY SATURDAY. FOR TEMPERATURES...GENERALLY STAYED A BIT ON THE COOL-SIDE OF MOS OVERALL...PARTICULARLY EARLY ON...WITH CONSIDERATION OF THE SNOWPACK. && .AVIATION.../06 TO 06Z/ A MIX OF VFR AND MVFR CONDITIONS PREVAILED IN EASTERN KENTUCKY AS THE FRONT MOVES CLOSER. AT 6Z...THE FRONT EXTENDED FROM ALLEN COUNTY IN CENTRAL KENTUCKY TO JUST EAST OF FORT KNOX AND JUST WEST OF LOUISVILLE. EXPECT THE CONDITIONS TO GRADUALLY LOWER TO IFR AS THE PRECIPITATION MOISTENS UP THE LOWER PORTIONS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE CIGS BUILD DOWN. THE FORECAST GETS A LITTLE TRICKY AS TO HOW MUCH OF A DRY SLOT IS GOING TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA TODAY BEFORE THE SURFACE TROUGH MOVES INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST. EXPECT THAT THE BAND OF PREFRONTAL PRECIPITATION THAT IS CURRENTLY MOVING ACROSS EASTERN KENTUCKY TO HAVE A BRIEF LULL AND THEN ANOTHER BAND OF PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT WILL THEN MOVE ACROSS THE AREA. THE FRONTAL PRECIPITATION WILL HAVE SOME SNOW MIXED IN...IF NOT ALL SNOW. ONCE THE SURFACE TROUGH MOVES INTO THE AREA...IT WILL BE ALL SNOW AS VERY COLD AIR WILL BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE AREA. YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE SOME GUSTY CONDITIONS NEAR AND BEHIND THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY AS IS TRACKS ACROSS THE AREA THIS MORNING. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM EST MONDAY FOR KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>086-104- 106>109-111-112-114-116. WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 7 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM EST MONDAY FOR KYZ087-088-110-113-115-117>120. && SHORT TERM...JJ LONG TERM...KAS AVIATION...JJ
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 447 PM EST SAT DEC 11 2010 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>086-104-106>109-111-112- 114-116-130100- FLEMING-MONTGOMERY-BATH-ROWAN-ESTILL-POWELL-MENIFEE-ROCKCASTLE- JACKSON-PULASKI-LAUREL-WAYNE-MCCREARY-WHITLEY-KNOX-ELLIOTT-MORGAN- JOHNSON-WOLFE-MAGOFFIN-LEE-BREATHITT-OWSLEY-CLAY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FLEMINGSBURG...MOUNT STERLING... OWINGSVILLE...MOREHEAD...IRVINE...STANTON...FRENCHBURG... MOUNT VERNON...MCKEE...SOMERSET...LONDON...MONTICELLO... WHITLEY CITY...CORBIN...WILLIAMSBURG...BARBOURVILLE...SANDY HOOK... WEST LIBERTY...PAINTSVILLE...CAMPTON...SALYERSVILLE...BEATTYVILLE... JACKSON...BOONEVILLE...MANCHESTER 447 PM EST SAT DEC 11 2010 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM SUNDAY TO 7 PM EST MONDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SNOW FROM WEST TO EAST BY AROUND DAWN SUNDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. ACCUMULATING SNOW OF BETWEEN 3 AND 5 INCHES IS EXPECTED FROM SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY. IN ADDITION...BREEZY NORTHWEST WINDS SUNDAY INTO MONDAY WILL BRING MUCH COLDER AIR INTO THE AREA. THIS WILL BLOW ANY SNOW AROUND... LIKELY REDUCING VISIBILITIES TO BELOW A MILE AT TIMES AS WELL AS SEND WIND CHILLS DOWN TO NEAR ZERO DEGREES. SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE FOR FURTHER DETAILS. THERE IS A CHANCE OF MIXED PRECIPITATION...INCLUDING FREEZING RAIN...SNOW...AND RAIN FROM LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON. SNOW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. LITTLE IF ANY ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS. KYZ087-088-110-113-115-117>120-130100- BELL-HARLAN-FLOYD-KNOTT-PERRY-LESLIE-LETCHER-MARTIN-PIKE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MIDDLESBORO...PINEVILLE...HARLAN... PRESTONSBURG...HINDMAN...HAZARD...HYDEN...WHITESBURG...INEZ... PIKEVILLE 447 PM EST SAT DEC 11 2010 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM SUNDAY TO 7 PM EST MONDAY... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SNOW FROM WEST TO EAST BY AROUND DAWN SUNDAY MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. ACCUMULATING SNOW OF BETWEEN 5 AND 12 INCHES IS EXPECTED FROM SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THE HIGHER TERRAIN BORDERING VIRGINIA WILL SEE THE HIGHER END TOTALS. IN ADDITION...BREEZY NORTHWEST WINDS SUNDAY INTO MONDAY WILL BRING MUCH COLDER AIR INTO THE AREA. THIS WILL BLOW ANY SNOW AROUND... LIKELY REDUCING VISIBILITIES TO BELOW A MILE AT TIMES AS WELL AS SEND WIND CHILLS DOWN TO NEAR ZERO DEGREES. SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE FOR FURTHER DETAILS. THERE IS A CHANCE OF MIXED PRECIPITATION...INCLUDING FREEZING RAIN...SNOW...AND RAIN FROM LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON. LOCATIONS NEAR AND NORTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY STAND THE BEST CHANCE TO SEE LIGHT ICE ACCUMULATIONS. SNOW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY. LITTLE IF ANY SNOW ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS. GREIF/JJ/GEOGERIAN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
30 winter weather, 19 heavy snow, 6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
A law enforcement official reported a 24 hour snowfall total in Hazard of 5.3 inches.
The snowfall total at Keavy since 6 am Sunday morning was 5 inches. The snow ended around 130 am on Monday.
The Powell County dispatch estimated 4 inches of snow on the ground on the morning of the 13th.
A coop observer reported a snowfall of 4.5 inches near Clay City.
Six inches of snow fell in Clay City.
Beattyville received 2.5 inches of snow between 10 am on the 13th and 740 am on the 14th. The storm total snowfall was 14.7 inches since Sunday evening.
A weather observer reported that 1.2 inches of snow had fallen between 955 am and 1255 pm. The storm total snowfall was 9.5 inches at this location.
A snowfall of 1.2 inches was reported near Talbert.
An NWS employee reported a 12 hour snowfall total of 6.5 inches near Talbert through 550 am. The total snowfall since 1 am on the 13th was 4.2 inches.
An NWS employee reported that 4.6 inches of snow had fallen near Jackson.
A trained spotter reported that 6.5 inches of snow had fallen in Jetts Creek.
A snow depth of 3 inches was reported in Fonde. The snow began accumulating around 10 am.
A trained spotter reported a snowfall of 2.1 inches in Calvin.
A member of the public reported a snowfall of 12 inches as of 10 am in a valley location in Thousandsticks.
Seven inches of snow fell in Hazard.
An inch of snow fell in Mount Vernon. Several vehicles were reported to have slid off I75 as it became snow covered.
A trained spotter reported that 5 inches of snow had fallen in Ferguson.
The Pulaski County sheriffs dept estimated a snow depth of 2 inches in Somerset.
The Monticello City Police Dept estimated a snowfall of 2 to 2.5 inches in Monticello.
An inch and a half of snow fell in Somerset.
Eight inches of snow fell in Hindman.
Four inches of snow fell in London.
Three inches of snow fell in Corbin.
Eight inches of snow fell in Hyden.
Bath county dispatch estimated around 3 inches of snow on the ground in Owingsville.
The Wolf county dispatch reported that 5 inches of snow had fallen in Campton.
The Magoffin county Rescue Squad reported that 5 inches of snow had fallen 5 miles east of Salyersville.
The Johnson county dispatch estimated that 2 inches of snow had fallen in Paintsville.
The 12 hour snowfall total at Buckhorn was 6 inches as of 630 am.
A trained spotter reported that 12.2 inches of snow had fallen just west of Beattyville over the last 16 hours.
A member of the public reported that 9.5 inches of snow had fallen in Pine Knot.
A trained spotter measured 4.5 inches of snow 5 miles west of Bee Lick.
Morgan county dispatch estimated that 2.5-3 inches of snow fell in West Liberty.
Four inches of snow fell 2 miles west of Mouthcard.
An NWS employee reported that 2.8 inches of snow had fallen near Prestonsburg between 1 and 6 am, with a storm total snowfall of 3.8 inches. KY 114 was snow covered at report time and US 23 was mostly slushy with some wet spots.
Seven tenths of an inch of snow had fallen between 7 am and 840 am. The total snowfall during the previous 12 hours was 4.4 inches, with a storm total snowfall of 4.6 inches.
A trained spotter measured 7.5 inches of snow in Fonde.
The Pike county dispatch reported that very hazardous road conditions existed across the county. Two tanker trucks were stuck on snow covered highways in the Pikeville area.
An NWS employee measured a snowfall of 4 inches near West Liberty.
Eight tenths of an inch of snow fell near Prestonsburg between 9 pm and midnight.
Five inches of snow fell 2 mile north northwest of Dice.
A foot of snow fell in Calvin.
Ten inches of snow fell 2 miles southwest of Pineville.
Nine inches of snow fell in a 12 hour period in Smilax.
Seven inches of snow was measured in Beattyville.
An NWS employee reported that 9.8 inches of snow had fallen in Beattyville, with 3.3 inches of new snow since 7 am.
A trained spotter reported that 15.5 inches of snow had fallen in Wallins Creek.
An NWS employee reported that 1.4 inches of snow had fallen near Talbert during the previuos 14 hours.
Four inches of snow fell near Prestonsburg.
A trained spotter reported that 9 inches of snow fell in Wallins Creek.
Seven inches of snow fell 7 miles northeast of Whitesburg.
The Estill county EM reported that 6.5 inches of snow had fallen 1 mile north of Irvine.
Four inches of snow fell in Inez.
A trained spotter reported that 3.5 inches of snow had fallenn near Prestonsburg.
A little over an inch of snow fell near Talbert between 1210 am and 115 am. The new total snowfall depth was 2.3 inches.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, December 2010
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: 269843, 269842, 269849, 269881, 269885, 269890, 269889, 269838, 269844, 269870, 269871, 269837, 269839, 269872, 269875, 269831, 269856, 269833, 269834, 269832, 269883, 269846, 269847, 269848, 269850, 269855, 269859, 269853, 269854, 269873, 269863, 269866, 269851, 269858, 269887, 269886, 269880, 269852, 269879, 269840, and more.