An upper level low pressure system tracked across the central Appalachians on February 24tha and 25th. The weather system kicked off widespread light snow showers that brought accumulating snowfall to multiple counties across eastern Kentucky.
Every event with a place to put it; 20 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.
An upper level low pressure system tracked across the central Appalachians on February 24tha and 25th. The weather system kicked off widespread light snow showers that brought accumulating snowfall to multiple counties across eastern Kentucky. The highest snowfall totals occurred in Harlan and Lecther counties where 5 to 8 inches of snow fell in the higher terrain. One to three inches of snowfall was reported in several other counties around the area.
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 Feb 24, 3:25 PM EST, 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 325 PM EST WED FEB 24 2010 .SHORT TERM.../TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/ AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT IS CURRENTLY EXITING TO THE EAST OF THE...WITH THE COLDER AIR LAGGING SOMEWHAT. TEMPERATURES OVER CENTRAL KY HAVE DROPPED OFF INTO THE UPPER 20S. CURRENTLY ACROSS THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS...THE TEMP WAS 25 AT BLACK MTN AND AREAS ABOVE 2000 FEET WERE IN THE UPPER 20S TO AROUND 30. BEHIND THIS FRONT...AN UPPER LOW IS BEGINNING TO TAKE SHAPE NEAR LAKE MICHIGAN. THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST OF THE REGION LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY THIS EVENING...AS COLDER AIR CONTINUES TO INVADE WITH THE APPROACH OF THE UPPER LEVEL LOW. 8H TEMPS SHOULD DROP OFF OVER THE WESTERN HALF OF THE CWA SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE 21Z TO 0Z TIMEFRAME AND 0Z TO 6Z IN THE EAST. LAPSE RATES WILL STEEPEN FURTHER AS THE AIR ALOFT COOLS AND A PICK UP IN INTENSITY AND COVERAGE OF SNOW SHOWERS SHOULD OCCUR DURING THIS TIME FRAME. ALSO...WITHING AN HOUR OR TWO EITHER SIDE OF SUNSET...SFC TEMPS SHOULD FALL TO AROUND FREEZING AND BELOW AND SNOW ACCUMULATION SHOULD COMMENCE. PRIOR TO THAT TIME...OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS...THE HEAVIEST SNOW SHOWERS WILL BRIEFLY COVER THE GROUND...BUT IN BETWEEN SNOW SHOWERS THAT ACCUMULATION WILL MORE THAN LIKELY MELT AWAY. ACROSS THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS THIS SHOULD NOT OCCUR. OVERNIGHT TONIGHT...ROUNDS OF SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED AS LAPSE RATES STEEPEN AND THE LOW LEVEL FLO WILL ALSO BECOME NEARLY IDEAL WNW TO NW OVERNIGHT. MOISTURE WILL BE SOMEWHAT LIMITED...BUT COLD AIR ALOFT SHOULD LEAD TO GREATER THAN 10:1 SNOW:LIQUID RATIONS...WITH MORE ON THE ORDER OF 20:1 OCCURRING DURING MUCH OF THE EVENT. WITH SOLAR INSOLATION DESPITE TEMPS LIKELY NOT REACHING THE FREEZING MARK...LOCATIONS BELOW 2000 FEET OR 1500 FEET WILL PROBABLY EXPERIENCE LITTLE SNOW ACCUMULATION AFTER MIDDAY ON THURSDAY. TIMEHEIGHT SECTIONS HAVE THE BEST SYNOPTIC LIFT FROM PRESENT THROUGH MUCH OF THE NIGHT TONIGHT. THE NAM HAS DIFFERENT OMEGA MAX PERIODS THAN THE GFS THOUGH...SO THE EXACT TIMING IS NOT CLEAR CUT AS HANDLING AND STRENGTH DIFFERENCES IN WEAKER IMPULSES ROTATING AROUND THE UPPER LOW REMAIN. HOWEVER...A PERIOD OF ENHANCED SNOW SHOWERS SHOULD OCCUR WITH THE LEADING EDGE OF THE COLDER AIR ALOFT AND WHILE THE AIR ALOFT IS COLDEST OR GENERALLY FROM EARLY THIS EVENING THROUGH TONIGHT. CONTINUED UPSLOPE EVENT AND LINGERING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WILL LEAD TO CONTINUED SNOW SHOWERS AND FLURRIES ON THURSDAY NIGHT AS WELL. WITH THIS ALL IN MIND HAVE OPTED TO GO WITH A WINTER WX ADVISORY FOR SNOW FROM TONIGHT THROUGH MIDDAY ON THURSDAY IN MOST AREAS...BUT HELD ONTO THE ADVISORY INTO EARLY THURSDAY EVENING IN PIKE...FLOYD AND HARLAN COUNTIES WHICH APPEAR TO BE MORE FAVORED FOR SNOW SHOWER ACTIVITY ON THURSDAY. ALONG WITH SOME ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION IN HIGHER ELEVATIONS DURING THE DAY ON THURSDAY THERE...FELT THAT IT WAS PRUDENT TO GO WITH A LONGER ADVISORY THERE. FOR NOW...THINKING IS SIMILAR AS FAR AS ACCUMULATIONS FROM PREVIOUS FORECASTS. A GENERAL 1 TO 2 INCHES SHOULD FALL BY MID MORNING ON THU ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION ALONG AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 75...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS IN MORE PERSISTENT SNOW SHOWERS. LOCATIONS SOUTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY AND PARTICULARLY SOUTH OF THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY AND KY HWY 80 CORRIDOR WILL PROBABLY EXPERIENCE AN AVERAGE OF 1 TO 3 INCHES BY THE TIME ACCUMULATING SNOW ENDS...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS ABOVE 2000 FEET. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...SDFWSWJKL HAS ALREADY BEEN ISSUED AND PLEASE SEE IT FOR FURTHER DETAILS. WE WILL ALSO ISSUE AN SPS FOR THE SOUTHWESTERN 3 COUNTIES NOT IN THE ADVISORY ATTM. WITH COLD ADVECTION CONTINUING TONIGHT...TEMPERATURES SHOULD FALL TO THE LOW TO MID 20S WITH TEENS IN THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS. TEMPERATURES WILL PROBABLY STRUGGLE TO REACH MOS VALUES ON THU...OR AT LEAST THE WARMER MET NUMBERS. WE OPTED TO TREND UP SLIGHTLY...BUT STILL BELOW MOS IN GENERAL. TEMPERATURES SHOULD AGAIN BE WELL INTO THE 20S ON THURSDAY NIGHT IN MOST LOCATIONS. .LONG TERM.../FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/...UPDATED H5 LOW WILL STAY NEARLY STATIONARY OVER NEW ENGLAND AND THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. SENSIBLE WEATHER THROUGH THIS TIME PERIOD WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY AMPLE SKY COVER ALONG WITH LINGERING SNOW SHOWERS AND FLURRIES AS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE HANGS AROUND. CHANCES FOR MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION ARE BASED UPON MID LEVEL WAVES ROTATING AROUND THE PARENT LOW...COMBINED WITH SOMEWHAT FAVORABLE UPSLOPE FLOW AND MOISTURE ENHANCEMENT FROM THE GREAT LAKES EVIDENT ON 1000-850 MB STREAMLINES. AT THIS POINT... CONFIDENCE IS HIGH THAT FLURRIES/ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL OCCUR AT TIMES DURING THE WEEKEND AS SATURATION TO AT LEAST THE -10C LAYER SHOULD ALLOW FOR ICE CRYSTALS. HOWEVER...THERE REMAINS SOME QUESTION WITH SURFACE TEMPERATURES DURING EACH AFTERNOON AS FORECAST SOUNDINGS INDICATE SOME DRIZZLE OR LIGHT RAIN COULD MIX IN. HAVE GENERALLY GONE AT OR BELOW GUIDANCE FOR THIS PERIOD...ESPECIALLY IN THE EAST WHERE THE MOST MOISTURE/LOW LEVEL CLOUDS WILL BE PRESENT. TEMPERATURES WILL BE ESPECIALLY TRICKY IF SOME BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS OCCUR AS LATE FEBRUARY SUN WILL BE ABLE TO HEAT THE SURFACE MUCH QUICKER THIS TIME OF YEAR. OVERALL...SHOULD NOT ACCUMULATE A WHOLE LOT OVER THE WEEKEND AS ANY NIGHTTIME ACCUMULATIONS WILL LIKELY MELT DURING THE DAY. BY SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY...UPPER LOW WILL BEGIN TO PROGRESS EASTWARD...ALLOWING FOR HEIGHTS TO BRIEFLY RISE AND SOME CLEARING/DRYING. WILL KEEP SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY DRY...HOWEVER MODELS GENERALLY AGREE ON ANOTHER MID LEVEL WAVE WORKING IN FROM THE NORTH. MOISTURE APPEARS TO BE IN QUESTION HERE SO WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF AT LEAST SOME POPS NEED TO BE ADDED AT A LATER POINT. THEN...SOUTHERN STREAM SYSTEM APPEARS TO SCOOT ALONG OUR SOUTHERN CWA LATE TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. THE CONSENSUS IS THAT THIS SYSTEM WILL STAY SOUTH OF THE AREA...HOWEVER IN THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN CWA SOME POPS ARE WARRANTED. THE JUSTIFICATION LIES IN POTENTIAL FOR PHASING WITH A NORTHERN STREAM LOW DIVING OUT OF THE NORTH...HOWEVER THIS FEATURE HAS BEEN ERRATIC AND WILL NOT COUNT ON THIS OCCURRING THAT FAR OUT. && .AVIATION.../18Z TO 18Z/ AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL LEAD TO AN INCREASE IN COVERAGE AND INTENSITY OF SNOW SHOWERS LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...GENERALLY BETWEEN 20Z AND 2Z. ADDITIONAL SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED BEFORE AND AFTER THIS PERIOD. CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO AVERAGE AT LEAST MVFR THROUGH THE PERIOD WITH SOME IFR OR LIFT VIS AND OR CIG DURING THE MOST INTENSE SHOWERS. WIND GUSTS IN THE 20 TO 30 MPH RANGE ARE POSSIBLE DURING THE LAST 6 HOURS OF THE PERIOD. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 10 AM EST THURSDAY FOR KYZ044- 050>052-058>060-068-069-080-085>087-104-106>117-119. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM EST THURSDAY FOR KYZ088-118- 120. && SHORT TERM...JP LONG TERM...SCHOETTMER AVIATION...JP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 427 AM EST WED FEB 24 2010 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-251230- FLEMING-MONTGOMERY-BATH-ROWAN-ESTILL-POWELL-MENIFEE-ROCKCASTLE- JACKSON-PULASKI-LAUREL-WAYNE-MCCREARY-WHITLEY-KNOX-BELL-HARLAN- ELLIOTT-MORGAN-JOHNSON-WOLFE-MAGOFFIN-FLOYD-LEE-BREATHITT-KNOTT- OWSLEY-PERRY-CLAY-LESLIE-LETCHER-MARTIN-PIKE- 427 AM EST WED FEB 24 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. LIGHT SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE LATE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE. AT THIS TIME IT APPEARS THE HIGHEST SNOWFALL TOTALS WILL OCCUR IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN ABOVE 2000 FEET ALONG THE VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA BORDERS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. SNOW IS POSSIBLE AT TIMES FROM THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THE BEST CHANCE FOR SNOW DURING THIS TIME WILL BE ON THURSDAY...WHEN SOME LIGHT ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE. THE HIGHEST SNOW FALL TOTALS ARE EXPECTED TO OCCUR IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN ABOVE 2000 FEET ALONG THE VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA BORDERS ON THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGE TO CALL IN SNOWFALL REPORTS TO THE JACKSON WEATHER OFFICE. AR
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
14 winter weather, 6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Four tenths of an inch of snow fell near Prestonsburg in a three hour period. The storm total snowfall was 0.7 inches.
An inch of new snow fell in Pineville over a 2 hour period.
One and two tenths of an inch of snow fell in Viper.
An inch of snow fell in Hazard, leading to slick roads which in turn caused several automobile accidents on Highway 80 East.
Two inches of new snow fell in Cumberland between 8 and 9 pm.
Up to 4 inches of snow fell on Highway 421 over Pine Mountain. Only a dusting of snow fell in Harlan.
Eight inches of snow fell on Black Mountain since yesterday. The total current snow depth at time of report was 16 inches.
A total snow depth of 3 inches was measured in Chavies.
Snowfall amounts ranged from 1.5 inches in Whitesburg to up to between 3 and 4 inches over the higher elevations of Letcher county.
Up to 5 inches of snow fell along Highway 119 over Pine Mountain.
Two and a half inches of snow fell in Whitesburg.
Four inches of snow fell 8 miles south of Whitesburg at an elevation of 2100 feet.
Two inches of snow fell in Clear Creek Springs.
Two inches of snow fell in Shelbiana.
Four inches of snow fell in Virgie.
Four inches of snow fell 4 miles east of Dorton on Highway 611.
Nine tenths of an inch of snow fell in Talbert between midnight and 716 am. The storm total snow depth was 1.9 inches.
Three tenths of an inch of snow fell in Somerset.
A half inch of snow fell in Stearns.
A half inch of snow fell in Prestonsburg over a 15 hour period. The storm total snowfall was 1.4 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, February 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: 216281, 216269, 216271, 216273, 216274, 216277, 216285, 216286, 216275, 216278, 216279, 216290, 216287, 216280, 216288, 216289, 216283, 216284, 216282, 216291.