A powerful and complex storm system brought rain, accumulating snow, and some mixed precipitation to eastern Kentucky from February 8-10th. Several transitions between liquid and wintry precip took place before the precip changed over to all snow by late in the day on February 9th.
Every event with a place to put it; 57 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.
A powerful and complex storm system brought rain, accumulating snow, and some mixed precipitation to eastern Kentucky from February 8-10th. Several transitions between liquid and wintry precip took place before the precip changed over to all snow by late in the day on February 9th. The highest snowfall totals occurred in the higher terrain along the Virginia and West Virginia borders.
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 8, 8:51 PM EST, 4 hours 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 851 PM EST MON FEB 8 2010 .SHORT TERM.../TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/...UPDATED PRECIP WILL OVERSPREAD THE FORECAST AREA AFTER 10 PM FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST. INHERITED WINTER WEATHER HEADLINES WILL BE LEFT ALONE FOR NOW AND WILL SIMPLY REFRESH THE TEXT WITH LATEST THOUGHTS...WHICH ARE SUMMED UP BELOW. SREF WAS LEANED ON PRETTY HEAVILY WITH REGARDS TO EXPECTED PRECIP TYPE OVERNIGHT TONIGHT. THIS WAS VERY GOOD IN OUR LAST EVENT AND SEEMS TO BE VERIFYING WELL WITH PRECIP BREAKING OUT ACROSS WEST TN/KY. AS SUCH... THE PRECIP SHOULD INITIALLY BEGIN AS SNOW FOR MOST AREAS TONIGHT... ALTHOUGH OUR TENNESSEE BORDER COUNTIES WILL LIKELY BEGIN AS A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW. IN FACT... MIDDLESBORO MAY JUST START AS RAIN AND STAY RAIN THROUGH THE REST OF THE NIGHT. TO THE NORTH... WARM ADVECTION IS EXPECTED TO CHANGE ALL PRECIP OVER THE RAIN FROM SOUTH TO NORTH OVERNIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING AS A 40-KT PLUS LOW LEVEL JET PUMPS WARM AIR NORTHWARD. SREF DOES INDICATE A POSSIBLE PERIOD OF FREEZING RAIN OVERNIGHT... MAINLY NORTH OF THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY... AND WILL INDICATE THIS POSSIBILITY... BUT ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO EXCEED 1/4 INCH. FORECAST QPF BY NOON ON TUESDAY RANGES FROM 1/4 OF AN INCH IN OUR SOUTHEAST COUNTIES UP TO 4/10 ALONG OUR WESTERN BORDER. OUR I-64 COUNTIES AND POINTS NORTHWARD WILL STAY SNOW THE LONGEST AND SOME LOCATIONS MAY SNEAK OUT A 4 OR 5 INCH AMOUNT BEFORE THE CHANGEOVER TAKES PLACE ON TUESDAY. IT IS THESE AREAS THAT THUS STAND THE BEST CHANCE OF MEETING WARNING CRITERIA BY NOON ON TUESDAY. THE REST OF THE WARNED COUNTIES SHOULD EXPECT LIGHTER AMOUNTS TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING... WITH WARNING CRITERIA SNOWFALL AMOUNTS THEN LIKELY TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. OVERALL... EXPECT TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS BY WEDNESDAY EVENING TO RANGE FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES ALONG AND NORTH OF I-64... TO AS LOW AS 1 TO 4 INCHES ALONG THE TENNESSEE BORDER. LATEST INDICATIONS ARE THAT MORE COUNTIES WILL INDEED NEED TO BE ADDED TO OUR WARNING EVENTUALLY AS UPSLOPE SNOWS TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY MAY REALLY POUND SOUTHEAST KENTUCKY. WE WILL HOLD OFF ON THIS UPGRADE RIGHT NOW THOUGH AS IT IS FEARED A SUDDEN UPGRADE NOW MAY CAUSE SOME CONFUSION AS FOLKS WHO ARE CURRENTLY UNDER AN ADVISORY MAY SUDDENLY THINK THEY ARE GOING TO GET WARNING CRITERIA SNOW/ICE TONIGHT... WHEN BIGGEST IMPACTS WILL NOT INDEED COME UNTIL TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. EITHER WAY OF HANDLING THIS HAS IT/S NEGATIVES... BUT HOPEFULLY THERE ARE FEWER NEGATIVES HOLDING OFF ON ADDING TO THE WARNING FOR A WHILE LONGER. THE PREVIOUS SHORT TERM FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... SPLIT STREAM FLOW ALOFT WILL PHASE OVERNIGHT...COMBINING A NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STREAM SYSTEM AND SPAWNING A SURFACE LOW JUST TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF THE AREA. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR A WEDGE OF WARM AIR TO BE ADVECTED INTO THE REGION JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE TONIGHT AND TOMORROW AND WILL SET THE STAGE FOR MIXED PRECIPITATION MAINLY SOUTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY. NORTH OF THIS LINE...PRECIPITATION SHOULD REMAIN MOSTLY SNOW THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY. THERE COULD BE A BRIEF PERIOD TUESDAY AFTERNOON WHERE THE AREA NORTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY SWITCHES TO A RAIN SNOW MIX OR ALL RAIN. TEMPERATURES WILL BE TRICKY OVERNIGHT AND SOME AREAS COULD STAY BELOW FREEZING DESPITE RAINFALL. AS A RESULT WILL INCLUDE A CHANCE OF FREEZING RAIN IN THE FORECAST THROUGH LATE MORNING ON TUESDAY. AT THIS POINT...ANY ICE ACCUMULATIONS LOOK TO BE LESS THAN A TENTH OF AN INCH...HOWEVER THIS WILL HAVE TO BE WATCHED VERY CLOSELY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS AND UNDERSTAND THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR GREATER ACCUMULATIONS SHOULD SURFACE TEMPERATURES NOT BEHAVE AS EXPECTED. THE OVERNIGHT IS BY FAR THE TRICKIEST PART OF THE FORECAST...HOWEVER THE MOST HAZARDOUS APPEARS TO BE TUESDAY EVENING THROUGH WEDNESDAY AS A POWERFUL ARCTIC FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH THE REGION. ANY RAIN THAT HAS DEVELOPED ON TUESDAY SHOULD QUICKLY CHANGE OVER TO ALL SNOW EARLY TUESDAY NIGHT AS VERY STRONG COLD AIRMASS WORKS IN BEHIND THE FRONT. AT THIS POINT...STRONG WINDS ARE EXPECTED BETWEEN 30 TO 35 MPH AND UPSLOPE FLOW WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE OF WRAP AROUND MOISTURE AND VERY COLD TEMPERATURES. LOOKING FOR SNOW RATIOS AROUND 20 OR 25 TO 1. BLOWING SNOW SHOULD REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO NEAR ZERO AND CAUSE DRIFTING AND WIND CHILLS ARE EXPECTED TO GET TO NEAR ZERO AS WELL. EXPECT ACCUMULATING UPSLOPE SNOW TO THEN LAST UNTIL LATE WEDNESDAY. .LONG TERM.../THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/ IN THE WAKE OF THE MAJOR UPPER LOW MOVING OFF THE NEW ENGLAND COAST THE MODELS ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE UPPER PATTERN OVER THE REGION FLATTENING OUT WITH SOME SLIGHT HEIGHT RISES OVER THE OHIO VALLEY. ATTENTION THEN TURNS TO THE SOUTHERN STREAM LOW THAT IS BEING BETTER HANDLED BY THE MODELS LATELY. THIS LOW ROLLS INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS THURSDAY NIGHT AND ACROSS THE DEEP SOUTH ON FRIDAY. THE GEM AND ECMWF ARE MORE AMPLIFIED WITH THIS WHEN COMPARED WITH THE GFS. WILL FOLLOW A BLEND FOR THIS FEATURE IN CONJUNCTION WITH HPC/S PREFERENCE AND CONTINUITY FROM THE PAST COUPLE OF DAYS. THE NORTHERN STREAM HAS A BIT MORE UNCERTAINTY AMONG THE MODELS WITH GEM MOST AGGRESSIVE BRINGING A CLOSED LOW SOUTHWEST INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST BY FRIDAY MORNING WHILE THE GFS AND ECMWF ARE FLATTER AND LESS WELL DEFINED WITH THIS WAVE. THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STREAMS MESH TOGETHER ON SATURDAY GENERALLY RESULTING IN A LARGE NORTHEASTERN TROUGH IN ALL MODELS...JUST WITH SIGNIFICANT VARIATIONS IN THE DETAILS. A BLEND OF THE GFS AND ECMWF WAS PREFERRED WITH THIS DEVELOPMENT AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS THE TROUGH SHARPENS UP AND PIVOTS EAST OF THE AREA. TO THE NORTH A NODE OF THE LARGE NEW ENGLAND TROUGH WILL SET UP TO ROTATE THROUGH THE EASTERN GREAT LAKES...QUICKER AND A BIT MORE SOUTH IN THE ECMWF THAN THE GFS. CONTINUED TO FOLLOW A BLENDED SOLUTION INTO MONDAY...TEMPERING THE MORE IMPACT-FULL...AT LEAST FOR EAST KENTUCKY...FORECAST FROM THE GFS. SENSIBLE WEATHER WILL FEATURE UPSLOPE SNOWS ENDING IN OUR HIGHEST EASTERN TERRAIN BY MIDDAY THURSDAY AS COLD HIGH PRESSURE SETS UP OVER THE OHIO VALLEY...TEMPORARILY CLEARING THE BULK OF THE CLOUDS AND SETTING UP A CHILLY NIGHT. HIGH CLOUDS WILL RETURN QUICKLY ON FRIDAY AHEAD OF THE NEXT SOUTHERN STREAM LOW THAT LOOKS TO BRUSH BY LATER THAT DAY. WOULD NOT RULE OUT SOME LIGHT SNOW FROM THIS ON FRIDAY... BUT FOR NOW HAVE LEFT IT DRY. A SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW LOOKS TO BE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...ESPECIALLY IN OUR NORTHEAST COUNTIES...AS THE UPPER TROUGH SHIFTS THROUGH THE REGION. THIS WILL HELP TO REINFORCE THE COLD AIR IN PLACE WITH SOME WEAK UPSLOPE FLOW POSSIBLE AS WELL THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THERE REMAINS A HIGH LEVEL OF UNCERTAINTY WITH THE UPPER LEVEL FEATURES FOR THE LATTER PORTION OF THE WEEKEND AND INTO THE NEW WORK WEEK AND AS A RESULT THE SFC PATTERN IS IN QUESTION. HOWEVER...COLD AIR APPEARS TO BE LOCKED IN PLACE...SO IN CONJUNCTION WITH LOW POPS DID KEEP A SMALL CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW IN THROUGH THE TAIL END OF THE FORECAST. MAINLY FOLLOWED HPC TEMPERATURE GUIDANCE THROUGH THE FORECAST PERIOD WITH SOME ADJUSTMENTS TO ACCOUNT FOR TERRAIN EFFECTS. AS FOR POPS... ENDED UP FAIRLY CLOSE TO THE MEX NUMBERS...NOT SURPRISING...GIVEN THE GENERAL PREFERENCE FOR THE SOLUTION FROM THE GFS. && .AVIATION.../00Z TO 24Z/ CLOUDS ARE GRADUALLY THICKENING AND LOWERING...BUT HAVE REMAINED IN THE VFR RANGE THUS FAR. CIGS SHOULD LOWER TO THE MVFR RANGE QUICKLY ONCE THE SNOW OR MIXED PRECIP ARRIVES 4Z TO 8Z. THE CONDITIONS WILL FURTHER ERODE DOWN TO THE IFR OR LIFR RANGE A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER IN SNOW OR MIXED PRECIP. THE PRECIP SHOULD REMAIN MIXED OR CHANGE TO RAIN QUICKER AT LOZ AND SME AS COMPARED TO JKL...BUT POSSIBLY REMAIN ALL SNOW AS LATE AT 15Z TO 17Z IN THE FAR NORTH. DESPITE THE CHANGE TO RAIN...THE LOWER ATMOSPHERE SHOULD REMAIN SATURATED ENOUGH FOR IFR CIGS FOR THE MOST PART THROUGH THE END OF THE PERIOD. A DRY SLOT AS WELL AS A WIND SHIFT TO MORE WESTERLY OR SW ASSOCIATED WITH AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED LATE IN THE PERIOD AS WELL...WITH MVFR POSSIBLE LATE. FOR SIMPLICITY HELD ONTO IFR FOR THE ENTIRE PERIOD ONCE THE ATMOSPHERE SATURATES IN PRECIP 5Z TO 9Z. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY FOR KYZ044-050>052- 059-060-104-106>110-119-120. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM EST WEDNESDAY FOR KYZ058-068- 069-079-080-083>088-111>118. && SHORT TERM...SCHOETTMER/ABE LONG TERM....GREIF AVIATION...GREIF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 1034 PM EST MON FEB 8 2010 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-100115- 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- 1034 PM EST MON FEB 8 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. A COMPLEX WINTER STORM WILL BRING A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION TONIGHT. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...WSWJKL...FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS STORM SYSTEM INCLUDING EXPECTED PRECIPITATION TYPES AND AMOUNTS FOR YOUR AREA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. A COMPLEX WINTER STORM WILL TRACK ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...WSWJKL...FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS STORM SYSTEM INCLUDING EXPECTED PRECIPITATION TYPES AND AMOUNTS FOR YOUR AREA. THERE IS A SMALL CHANCE OF SNOW FROM FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOW OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN JACKSON. ABE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
32 heavy snow, 25 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Over the past hour 0.10 inches of snow fell, with a total accumulation of snow and slush of 0.60 inches. A trace of freezing rain also fell, leaving a light glaze of ice on all exposed surfaces. Roads in the area were covered in snow, frozen slush, a light glaze of freezing rain.
A trained spotter reported white out conditions and snow covered roads in London.
Four inches of snow fell in Haldman over the past 12 hours, with 5 inches of total snow depth. The storm total snowfall was 7 inches.
One and eight tenths of an inch of snow fell in Sandgap.
Three inches of snow fell in Campton.
Four inches of snow fell 3 miles east southeast of Campton. The total snow depth at 11 am was 5 inches.
Four inches of snow fell in Owingsville.
Three inches of snow fell in Rogers.
Six inches of snow fell in Haldman over the past 15 hours. A total snow depth of 7 inches was reported with a storm total snowfall of 9 inches.
Four to six inches of snow had fallen around the county.
Three inches of snow was reported on the ground in Pineville with light snow still falling.
Five inches of snow had fallen across most of the county.
Four to five inches of snow fell in Sandy Hook.
An estimated snow depth of 4 to 5 inches was reported 3 miles east northeast of Frenchburg.
The total snowfall from last night through this afternoon totaled 1.3 inches in Flemingsburg.
One inch of new snow fell in Haldeman Kentucky between noon and 5 pm today. the total snow measured snow depth was 8 inches.
A weather service employee measured an overall snow depth of 4 inches at the top of Slade grade in Powell county.
An NWS employee reported white out conditions at his home in Clay City. The snow was covering the ground and area roads very quickly.
Four inches of snow fell 3 miles northwest of West Liberty, with 2.4 inches of that falling since 7 am.
One and a half inches of snow fell in Inez.
Four and two tenths of an inch of snow fell in Flatgap.
One and one tenth of an inch of snow had fallen near Prestonsburg over the past 6 hours, with a total snow depth of 2 inches.
Four inches of snow fell 2 miles north of Prestonsburg.
Two to three inches of snow were measured in Beattyville. The snow was falling at a rate of between 1/2 and 3/4 of an inch per hour.
Three inches of snow fell 6 miles south of Beattyville.
Four inches of snow fell 4 miles north of Beattyville.
Three inches of snow fell 1 mile southeast of Booneville.
Four inches of snow fell 10 miles southwest of Booneville.
Two and a half inches of snow fell 8 miles southeast of Somerset.
A weather service employee reported a storm total snowfall of 3.5 inches 2 miles southeast of Talbert since 930 pm the previous night. One inch of new snow had fallen since 7 am.
Four inches of snow fell at the Jackson weather office.
Four inches of snow fell in Bimble.
Three inches of snow fell in the valleys, with 6 to 7 inches on Pine Mountain and 10 to 12 inches on Black Mountain. These amounts were new snow that had fallen since last night.
Three inches of snow fell in Manchester.
Three inches of snow fell 2 miles southeast of Talbert since 7 am. The total snow depth was 4.5 inches. The total snowfall since 9 pm last night was 5.5 inches.
More than a foot of snow was measured on Black Mountain along with 8 inches on Pine Mountain.
Four inches of snow fell across the county in the lower elevations. Up to six inches of snow had fallen in the higher terrain.
Three to four inches of snow fell in Oneida since late on February 9th.
A trained spotter reported that 3.5 inches of snow fell in Thousandsticks.
A trained spotter reported that 1.3 inches of snow had fallen in Flatgap since 10 pm the previous night.
A trained spotter reported that 4 inches of snow had fallen 1 mile east southeast of Hindman.
Four inches of snow fell in Thornton.
Four inches of snow fell in Hazard.
Two inches of snow fell 6 miles south of Hyden.
Four inches of snow fell 5 miles southeast of Hyden.
Six inches of snow fell in Thousandsticks.
Two to three inches of snow fell in Ferndale at the lower elevations.
Four inches of snow fell in Rockhouse.
Three inches of snow fell in Kimper.
Up to 5 inches of snow fell in Thornton.
Three inches of snow fell in Mousie as of 2 pm. There was also 1/8 of an inch of ice on the ground beneath the layer of snow.
Four inches of snow fell in Whitesburg.
Seven inches of snow fell in Fleming Neon.
Eight inches of snow fell in Jenkins.
A weather spotter reported that 2.75 inches of snow had fallen since last night. Based on radar loops and surface observations, the snow likely fell in two seperate events, one between 8 and 10 pm last night and the other since about 7 am this morning.
An inch of snow with blowing snow was reported in the Calvin area.
An inch of snow fell in about an hour in Thornton.
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: 214113, 214115, 211254, 211256, 211257, 211259, 211260, 211266, 211273, 211276, 211279, 211280, 211284, 211286, 211287, 211298, 211301, 214117, 211265, 211268, 211277, 211281, 211300, 211246, 211253, 211261, 211264, 211269, 211272, 211250, 211258, 211262, 211267, 211270, 211283, 211285, 211288, 211289, 211245, 211247, and more.