On February the 8th, a cold front moved through eastern Kentucky. The precipitation stayed as snow throughout the entire event.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
On February the 8th, a cold front moved through eastern Kentucky. The precipitation stayed as snow throughout the entire event. Most snowfall accumulations were light.
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 7, 8:54 PM EST, 3 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 854 PM EST MON FEB 7 2011 .SHORT TERM.../THE REST OF TODAY/...UPDATED COLD FRONT PUSHING THRU THE CWFA. MOST LOCATIONS HAVE CHANGED TO -SN AND TEMPERATURES ARE DROPPING FAST BEHIND THE FRONT. THE FRONT WILL PUSH ACROSS THE VA BORDER AND LEAVE OUR AREA IN THE COLDER AIR. TEMPS ARE RUNNING A TAD BELOW FCST BUT SHOULD LEVEL OUT AS THE NW WINDS AND CAA ARE NOT AS STRONG AS JUST BEHIND THE FNT THIS AFTERNOON. MOISTURE IS STILL LIMITED AND FCST OF AN INCH OR LESS TOTAL ACCUMULATION APPEARS REASONABLE. WILL REISSUE SPS FOR FREEZING TEMPS AND POSSIBLE SLICK SPOTS ON AREA ROADWAYS. THE BACK EDGE OF THE LOW CLOUDS HAS PASSED SDF AND SHOULD PASS FFT WITHIN THE NEXT 2 HRS. EXPECT THE FNT TO CLEAR THE STATE AROUND 3 TO 4 AM EDT. UPDATED FCST TO REMOVE MENTION OF -RA AND FIX GUSTY WINDS FROM THE NW. TEMPS ON TRACK BUT WILL MONITOR FOR ANY PRECIPITOUS DROP. THE PREVIOUS SHORT TERM FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... /TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/ A RATHER COMPLEX SCENARIO LATE THIS AFTERNOON IS PRESENT ACROSS THE REGION. AHEAD OF THE MAIN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM THAT IS CURRENT OVER MIDDLE TN AND QUITE EVIDENT ON RADAR AND SATELLITE IMAGERY SOME THIN SPOTS OR CONSIDERABLE CLEARING HAS TAKEN PLACE AND ALLOWED TEMPS TO CLIMB TOWARD 50. A BAND OF LIGHT TO MODERATE PRECIP HAS BEEN PRESENT NEAR AND NORTH OF THE INTERSTATE 64 CORRIDOR...BUT TEMPS THERE HAVE BEEN ONLY MARGINAL FOR ANY SNOW AND THEN GENERALLY IN FLEMING COUNTY. AT THE SFC...THE MAIN SFC LOW IS RATHER BROAD AND AMORPHOUS...BUT THE MAIN SFC LOW APPEAR TO BE IN THE VICINITY OF THE CUMBERLAND PLATEAU OF TN. AS WE HEAD INTO THE EVENING AND TONIGHT...WE EXPECT THE BAND OF PRECIP IN THE NORTH TO BECOME LESS INTENSE AND POSSIBLY SHIFT NORTH...THOUGH SOME RESURGENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRECIP WILL PROBABLY OCCUR AS THE MAIN UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM GETS CLOSE TO THE REGION. AT THE SAME TIME...THE COLD FRONT THAT PER WIND DIRECTION GENERALLY BISECTS THE AREA FROM NEAR HTS TO JUST EAST OF SME AND EKQ AND ON SOUTH INTO MIDDLE TN WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST AND PUSH SOUTH OF THE AREA BY EARLY EVENING. HOWEVER...UNTIL THE SFC LOW AND UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM GET CLOSER TO THE REGION IN THE EVENING...THE COLDER AIR SHOULD NOT ADVECT EAST AND SOUTH INTO THE AREA VERY QUICKLY. HOWEVER...BETWEEN ABOUT 22Z AND 5Z...THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD GRADUALLY CHANGE TO ALL SNOW FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST...WITH RIDGETOPS...ESPECIALLY THE HIGHEST RIDGETOPS CHANGING TO SNOW AN HOUR OR TWO EARLIER THAN SOME OF THE CITY LOCATIONS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY AND KY HIGHWAY 80 CORRIDORS. CURRENTLY WARM TEMPS AND WARM PAVEMENT SHOULD LIMIT ACCUMULATIONS TO MOSTLY OCCURRING ON GRASSY SURFACES AND OBJECTS. THE MODEL QPF IS HIGHEST TONIGHT IN THE SOUTHEASTERN CWA NEAR THE TRACK OF THE UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM. AT THE SAME TIME...THE PRECIP SHOULD CHANGE OVER TO SNOW LATEST THERE...SO ACTUAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE A BIT TRICKY WITH ONLY THIS CONSIDERED. IN ADDITION...THE 12Z WRF HAD MORE SIGNIFICANT OMEGA IN THE DENDRITIC GROWTH ZONE AND AGAIN THIS WOULD BE MORE FAVORABLE FOR A LITTLE MORE IN THE WAY OF SNOWFALL IN THE SOUTHEASTERN PART OF THE CWA INCLUDING JKL. THE 18Z WRF IS ALSO ON THE TRAIL OF THIS AND THIS SCENARIO WILL CONTINUE TO BE WATCHES. OVERALL...THOUGH OUR EXPECTED SNOWFALL AMOUNTS HAVE NOT CHANGED AND THIS SHOULD BE THE CASE UNLESS THE 12Z/18Z WRF SCENARIO WERE TO MATERIALIZE...THEN AMOUNTS WOULD BE HIGHER...ESPECIALLY ON THE RIDGETOPS. VALLEY LOCATIONS SHOULD GET LESS THAN AN INCH ON AVERAGE TONIGHT...AND PROBABLY IN MANY CASES LESS THAN A HALF OF AN INCH. RIDGETOPS AND LOCATIONS NEAR THE ESCARPMENT/DANIEL BOONE NATIONAL FOREST...INCLUDING JKL SHOULD RECEIVE ABOUT ONE INCH AND THE HIGHEST RIDGES IN THE SOUTHEAST GENERALLY SOUTH OF THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY AND KY HIGHWAY 80 CORRIDOR AS MUCH AS TWO INCHES COULD FALL. AT THIS POINT IN TIME WE WILL CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT THIS EVENT WITH AN SPS AND IN THE HWO. MODELS LINGER LOW LEVEL MOISTURE WELL INTO THE DAY ON TUESDAY AND HAVE AT LEAST ANOTHER WEAKER SHORTWAVE GENERALLY PASSING BY TO THE NORTH OF THE REGION ON TUE. RATHER STEEP LAPSE RATES ARE PROGGED FOR TUE AND THIS SHOULD PROLONG THE STRATOCU AND LEAD TO CONTINUED ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WITH SOME VERY LIGHT FLUFFY ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE WHERE THEY OCCUR. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE OH VALLEY REGION SHOULD LEAD TO THINNING AND DRYING OUT OF THE LOW LEVELS ON TUE EVENING/TUE NIGHT WITH SOME AT LEAST PARTIAL CLEARING. HOWEVER...CLOUDS IN ADVANCE OF ANOTHER SHORTWAVE QUICKLY APPROACHING FROM THE WEST SHOULD INVADE THE REGION...ESPECIALLY DURING THE SECOND HALF OF TUE NIGHT. ON WED AND WED NIGHT...ISENTROPIC LIFT AND A GENERAL MOISTENING UP OF THE ATMOSPHERE FROM THE TOP DOWN WILL BEGIN ACROSS THE SOUTH ON WED. NOT MUCH IN THE WAY OF A SFC REFLECTION IS FORECAST BY THE MODELS TO DEVELOP...WITH GENERALLY WEAK SFC LOW(S) ACROSS THE GULF COAST REGION BY LATE IN THE DAY AND THEN SOME REORGANIZATION OFF THE CAROLINA OR SOUTHEAST COAST LATE IN THE PERIOD. MUCH OF THE MOISTURE WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL PROBABLY BE EXHAUSTED IN MOISTENING UP THE LOWEST LEVELS. HOWEVER...WITH THIS SYSTEM...THE ATMOSPHERE WILL BE COLD ENOUGH TO SUPPORT SNOW THROUGHOUT THE EVENT AND THE FAR SOUTHERN CWA IS FAVORED TO RECEIVE MEASURABLE PRECIP. FAIRLY HIGH SNOW TO WATER RATIOS ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS SYSTEM. OPTED TO HOLD ONTO LIKELY POPS IN THE SOUTH AT THIS TIME AS THE WRF...ECMWF AND EVEN TO AN EXTENT THE GFS SUPPORT AT LEAST SOME LIGHT SNOW IN THE SOUTH. THE GFS IS PROBABLY A BIT DRIER THAN THE OTHER MODELS. WITH A QUICK MOVING SYSTEM AND VERY WEAK SFC SYSTEM WELL TO THE SOUTH...IT APPEARS THAT ANY SNOWFALL WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL BE LIGHT AND GENERALLY IN LOCATIONS TO THE SOUTH OF THE MTN PARKWAY. .LONG TERM.../THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY/ THE MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH A ZONAL FLOW PATTERN TO DOMINATE ACROSS THE CONUS THROUGH THE EXTENDED PERIOD. AN AREA OF SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL TAKE HOLD ACROSS THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND LINGER THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK...BEFORE SHIFTING OFF TO THE SOUTHEAST AND WEAKENING BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR A COLD FRONT TO MOVE TOWARDS THE AREA BY MONDAY...HOWEVER HAVE KEPT POPS OUT OF THE FORECAST UNTIL JUST BEYOND DAY 7 FOR NOW. ONCE CLOUDS CLEAR OUT BEHIND A DEPARTING SOUTHERN STREAM SYSTEM ON THURSDAY...SKIES SHOULD BE MOSTLY CLEAR THEREAFTER BESIDES A FEW PASSING MID AND UPPER LEVEL CLOUDS FROM TIME TO TIME. TEMPERATURES WILL START OUT WELL BELOW NORMAL...BUT THANKS TO SOUTHERLY WINDS KICKING BY FRIDAY...READINGS WILL BE ON THE RISE TO NEAR OR ABOVE NORMAL. HIGHS WILL RETURN BACK INTO THE 50S BY SUNDAY AND MONDAY. THE LATEST GUIDANCE TEMPERATURES WERE REASONABLE THROUGH THE EXTENDED...AND THESE NUMBERS WERE ALREADY CLOSE TO THE INHERITED READINGS...SO ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE. && .AVIATION.../00Z TO 24Z/ BASED ON CURRENT OBS THE WIND SHIFT DEPICTING THE COLD FRONT HAS ALREADY PASSED SME/EKQ. -RA SEEN ALMOST ACROSS THE AREA AND HAVE RECEIVED ONE REPORT THAT THERE IS A LITTLE SNOW MIXED IN WITH THE RAIN. CIGS AND VSBY ARE DROPPING TO IFR WITH THE FRONT AND JUST BEHIND THE FRONT. BACK EDGE OF THE LOW CLOUDS ALMOST TO SDF AND PROJECT IT WILL GET HERE BETWEEN 1-2 EDT. VSBY SHOULD DROP WITH THE ONSET OF THE -SHSN BUT THAT WILL ONLY LAST FOR A FEW HOURS. EXPECT WINDS TO SWITCH FROM SW TO NW WITH FRONTAL PASSAGE AND MAY BECOME RATHER GUSTY. GUSTS SHOULD LAST WELL INTO TUESDAY SO LOWEST LAYERS WILL BE QUITE TURBULENT. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SHORT TERM...JP/DUSTY LONG TERM....GEOGERIAN AVIATION...DUSTY
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 900 PM EST MON FEB 7 2011 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-090500- 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- 900 PM EST MON FEB 7 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST THIS EVENING. THE SNOW WILL TAPER TO SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS AND FLURRIES AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE AN INCH OR LESS ON AVERAGE...EXCEPT UP TO TWO INCHES ON THE RIDGES NEAR THE VIRGINIA AND WEST VIRGINIA BORDERS...ESPECIALLY THOSE ABOVE 2000 FEET ELEVATION. WINDS WILL BECOME GUSTY AND MAY CREATE SOME VISIBILITY PROBLEMS WITH THE BLOWING SNOW. EXPECT GUSTS TO NEAR 20 MPH FROM THE NORTHWEST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED ON TUESDAY. LIGHT SNOW IS POSSIBLE FROM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE HIGHEST CHANCE FOR ACCUMULATING SNOW WITH THIS IS GENERALLY SOUTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY CORRIDOR. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL TONIGHT. JP/DUSTY
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 1031 PM EST MON FEB 7 2011 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-081200- 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- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FLEMINGSBURG...MOUNT STERLING... OWINGSVILLE...MOREHEAD...IRVINE...STANTON...FRENCHBURG... MOUNT VERNON...MCKEE...SOMERSET...LONDON...MONTICELLO... WHITLEY CITY...CORBIN...WILLIAMSBURG...BARBOURVILLE...MIDDLESBORO... PINEVILLE...HARLAN...SANDY HOOK...WEST LIBERTY...PAINTSVILLE... CAMPTON...SALYERSVILLE...PRESTONSBURG...BEATTYVILLE...JACKSON... HINDMAN...BOONEVILLE...HAZARD...MANCHESTER...HYDEN...WHITESBURG... INEZ...PIKEVILLE 1031 PM EST MON FEB 7 2011 ...FREEZING TEMPERATURES WILL CAUSE SOME SLICK SPOTS ON AREA ROADWAYS... AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT HAS BROUGHT PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA TONIGHT. THE PRECIPITATION CHANGED TO SNOW ACROSS EASTERN KENTUCKY THIS EVENING. THE SNOW WILL DIMINISH TO SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT AND THEN JUST FLURRIES OR ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS BY DAWN ON TUESDAY. WARM TEMPERATURES HAVE LIMITED SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS IN MOST LOCATIONS TO AN INCH OR LESS. HOWEVER...UP TO TWO INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE BY DAWN TUESDAY OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN NEAR THE WEST VIRGINA AND VIRGINIA BORDERS...GENERALLY ABOVE 2000 FEET ELEVATION. AS TEMPERATURES DROP BELOW FREEZING TONIGHT...SOME SLICK OR ICY SPOTS MAY DEVELOP ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES AS WELL AS SECONDARY AND UNTREATED ROADWAYS. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATER UPDATES ON THIS POTENTIAL WINTER WEATHER EVENT. JP/DUSTY
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
A snow accumulation of 1.6 inches was reported 1 mile south of Mary.
An inch of snow accumulated 7 miles northeast of Whitesburg.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, February 2011
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: 272963, 272964.