On February the 9th, a low pressure system developed in the lower Mississippi valley and moved northeast. Snow tracked from central Kentucky and Tennessee into eastern Kentucky and began to fall in eastern Kentucky by 2 PM.
Every event with a place to put it; 60 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 9th, a low pressure system developed in the lower Mississippi valley and moved northeast. Snow tracked from central Kentucky and Tennessee into eastern Kentucky and began to fall in eastern Kentucky by 2 PM. Most locations received 1 to 3 inches with locally higher amounts along the counties bordering Tennessee. The snow was heavy at times with the southern counties receiving the higher amounts.
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 9, 1:39 PM EST, 21 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 139 PM EST WED FEB 9 2011 .SHORT TERM.../THE REST OF TODAY/...UPDATED SNOW HAS REACHED AS FAR EAST AS SOUTHCENTRAL KY JUST WEST OF SME AND EKQ AND AS FAR EAST AS MADISON COUNTY. WITH THAT IN MIND...OPTED TO START THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY A BIT EARLIER THAN PREVIOUSLY FOR SOME OF THE SOUTHWESTERN COUNTIES. BAND OF SNOW NEAR THE TN BORDER OVER SOUTH CENTRAL KY SHOULD BEGIN TO AFFECT THE SOUTHWESTERN CWA PRIOR TO 3 PM...AND THEN GRADUALLY LIFT NE WITH ACCUMULATIONS LIKELY A BIT HEAVIER THIS AFTERNOON THAN EARLIER FORECAST IN THESE MORE WESTERN AREAS. OPTED TO GO WITH AROUND ONE INCH THERE THROUGH AROUND DARK...AND THEN ANOTHER 1 TO 2 INCHES TONIGHT...FOR STORM TOTAL IN THE EARLIER START COUNTIES IN THE 2 TO 3 INCH RANGE. OTHERWISE...SNOW SHOULD DEVELOP IN MOST LOCATIONS BY 5 PM. THE PREVIOUS SHORT TERM FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... /THE REST OF TODAY/ THE LAST COUPLE OF MODEL CYCLES ALONG WITH THE TREND OF RADAR RETURNS (CURRENTLY VIRGA) IN THE JKL CWA APPEAR TO SUPPORT SLIGHTLY HIGHER SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FURTHER TO THE NORTH. AT THIS POINT IN TIME...THE ATMOSPHERE IS MOISTENING UP FROM THE TOP DOWN. HOWEVER...THE NEW GFS IS A LITTLE MORE MOIST THAN PREVIOUS RUNS AND CONTINUES SUPPORTING THE MODEL TREND OF HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLY AS FAR NORTH AS A STRIPE ACROSS THE MIDDLE OF THE CWA. WE HAVE ALREADY EXTENDED THE ADVISORY FURTHER TO THE NORTH (SEE SDFWSWJKL) AND WILL BE CONSIDERING THE ADDITION OF ADDITIONAL COUNTIES AND POSSIBLY AN EARLIER START TIME OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS. THE SNOW THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT SHOULD HAVE RATHER HIGH SNOW:WATER RATIOS OF PERHAPS 15:1...AND POSSIBLY HIGHER. SO ALTHOUGH QPF WILL LIKELY RANGE FROM 0.10 TO 0.15 IN THE ADVISORY AREA...SNOWFALL SHOULD RANGE IN THE 1 TO 3 INCH RANGE IN MANY AREAS. AS FAR AS START TIMES... SNOW SHOULD START REACHING THE GROUND BETWEEN 1 AND 5 PM IN MOST PLACES...A EARLIER ACROSS THE LAKE CUMBERLAND REGION NORTHEAST TOWARD THE MTN PARKWAY CORRIDOR AND THEN LATER IN AREAS CLOSER TO INTERSTATE 64 AND THE VA BORDER. THE PREVIOUS SHORT TERM FORECAST DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... /TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/ 06Z SFC ANALYSIS SHOWS A CHILLY AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE LAID OUT WEST TO EAST THROUGH THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY. SOUTH OF THIS...A BURGEONING LOW WAS DEVELOPING OVER CENTRAL TEXAS SOON TO BE UNLEASHED ON THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO. OVER EAST KENTUCKY CLEAR SKIES DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT HAS HELPED TEMPERATURES DROP INTO THE MIDDLE TEENS WITH A FEW SPOTS NORTH OF INTERSTATE 64 CLOSER TO 10 DEGREES AND NEAR 20 DEGREE READINGS FOUND ALONG THE TENNESSEE BORDER...THOUGH THE EKQ COLD SPOT IS REPORTING 11. MID LEVEL CLOUDS ARE SPREADING EAST OVER THE AREA AND WILL LIKELY PUT THE BRAKES ON A CONTINUED TEMPERATURE DECLINE THROUGH DAWN. THE MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE STRONG SOUTHERN STREAM SHORTWAVE COMING OUT OF THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES IN CONJUNCTION WITH A SOUTHWARD PIVOT TO THE HUDSON BAY TROUGH. AS THIS WAVE COMES EAST IT WILL DAMPEN A BIT AND OPEN UP...PREVENTING IT FROM BECOMING A MAJOR STORM LIKE IT ONCE LOOKED LIKE IN THE MODELS MANY DAYS AGO. HOWEVER... THIS WAVE WILL HAVE A MODICUM OF PHASING ASSOCIATED WITH THE NORTHERN STREAM AND A FAVORABLE 300 MB JET STREAK COMING THROUGH THE TENNESSEE VALLEY LATER IN THE DAY. THIS STREAK WILL RESULT IN SOME DIVERGENCE ALOFT TO ENHANCE THE PCPN FROM THE PASSING SFC SYSTEM. GIVEN THE MODEL AGREEMENT HAVE FOLLOWED A MODIFIED VERSION OF THE NAM12 FOR WEATHER SPECIFICS AND DETAILS WITH A BLEND OF THE SREF AND 12Z/00Z ECMWF. SENSIBLE WEATHER WILL FEATURE AN AREA OF SNOW SPREADING EAST FROM SOUTH CENTRAL KENTUCKY UP AND THROUGH THE SOUTHEAST SECTION OF EAST KENTUCKY DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON HOURS AND INTO THE EVENING. EXPECT THE HIGHEST SNOW TOTALS TO OCCUR OVER LOCATIONS ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY AND FALLING AT THE PEAK INTENSITY DURING THE LATE EVENING HOURS. WITH TEMPERATURES BARELY GETTING ABOVE FREEZING TODAY THE PCPN WILL FALL AS ALL SNOW. FORESEE ABOUT AN INCH OF SNOW FALLING SOUTH AND EAST OF A LINE MCKEE TO INEZ. BASED ON THIS LINE WILL ISSUE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY BEGINNING AT 20Z AND RUNNING THROUGH 12Z THURSDAY. MOST PLACES IN THE ADVISORY WILL SEE AROUND 2 INCHES OF SNOW WITH LESSER AMOUNTS FOUND FURTHER AWAY TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY. AS MUCH AS THREE INCHES COULD ACCUMULATE OVER THE HIGHER PEAKS NEAR THE VIRGINIA BORDER...BUT UPSLOPE FLOW WILL NOT BE MUCH OF A FACTOR IN THIS SYSTEM SO EXPECT THAT FACT TO TEMPER AMOUNTS IN OUR USUALLY SNOWY AREAS. THE SNOW WILL WIND DOWN LATER TONIGHT AND SHOULD BE MOSTLY OUT OF THE AREA BY DAWN THURSDAY. WILL RUN THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THROUGH THEN IN CASE IT IS A BIT SLOWER TO DEPART. IN THE WAKE OF THIS MINI SNOW STORM...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN AND CLEAR THE SKY. HAVE INCORPORATED THE ANTICIPATED NEW SNOW INTO TEMPERATURES FOR THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT...RUNNING THEM A BIT LOWER THAN GUIDANCE OVER THE SOUTHEAST. THURSDAY NIGHT WILL BE SIMILAR TO THIS NIGHT AND QUITE CHILLY BENEATH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES...LIGHT WINDS...AND FRESH SNOW... AT LEAST IN THE SOUTH. FOR TEMPERATURES...HAVE USED A BLEND OF THE INHERITED TEMPERATURES AND THE MAV/MET GUIDANCE THROUGH THE PERIOD ALONG WITH SNOW PACK ADJUSTED VALUES FOR THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT. WITH POPS HAVE ENDED UP HIGHER THAN GUIDANCE NUMBERS...BUT CLOSEST TO THE MET...AT LEAST IN THE SOUTH. .LONG TERM.../FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY/ THE LONG TERM MODELS ARE IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT REGARDING DAYS 3-7 OF THE FORECAST. THE ECMWF...DGEX...HPC...AND NAEFS MODELS ALL AGREE ON A DRY MOST ZONAL PATTERN THROUGH NEXT MONDAY...AS A SERIES OF AREAS OF HIGH PRESSURE LOOK TO DOMINATE AREA WEATHER. THE ONLY MODEL TRYING TO PRODUCE PRECIPITATION IN EASTERN KENTUCKY BEFORE THE FIRST OF NEXT WEEK IS THE GFS...WHICH ONCE AGAIN IS AN OUTLIER. THE LATEST HPC GUIDANCE ALSO HAS NO PRECIP CHANCES SHOWING UP UNTIL EARLY NEXT WEEK...SO THE TREND OF DRY WEATHER WAS CONTINUED FOR THE EXTENDED PORTION OF THE FORECAST. THE ONE CHANGE THAT WAS MADE WAS TO INCREASE TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE BOARD. THE LATEST HPC GUIDANCE AND MEXMOS NUMBERS BOTH CAME IN WARMER THAN THE PREVIOUS FORECAST TEMPS. WITH NO PRECIPITATION AND PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES EXPECTED EACH DAY...DECIDED TO TWEAK THE TEMPS TOWARD THE WARMER GUIDANCE NUMBERS. IT APPEARS THAT A MAJOR WARM UP IS IN STORE FROM SATURDAY THROUGH NEXT TUESDAY...WITH TEMPS IN THE MID 50S POSSIBLE BY SUNDAY. THE REST OF THE FORECAST WAS LEFT PRETTY MUCH AS IS. && .AVIATION.../18Z TO 18Z/ MVFR CONDITIONS SHOULD TAKE HOLD AT THE AF SITES IN THE FIRST TWO TO THREE HOURS OF THE PERIOD...AS LOWER CLOUDS AND SNOW SPREADS FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS THE TAF SITES. THE HEAVIEST SNOW SHOULD OCCUR BETWEEN 21Z AND 4Z AS HEAVIER SNOW WORKS ENE ACROSS THE TAF LOCATIONS. ACCORDINGLY...HAVE HIT THE ANTICIPATED IFR AND LIFR CONDITIONS. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT VIS OR CIGS COULD FALL BRIEFLY INTO VLIFR DURING THAT PERIOD. OTHERWISE...CONDITIONS SHOULD IMPROVE AFTER 6Z AS THE SNOW TAPERS TO SNOW SHOWERS AS SOME SHALLOW LOW LEVEL MOISTURE IS LEFT BEHIND. VFR SHOULD RETURN BY THE LAST 6 HOURS OF THE PERIOD. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM EST THURSDAY FOR KYZ058-059- 068-069-079-080-083>085-111-114. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 7 AM EST THURSDAY FOR KYZ060- 086>088-106>110-112-113-115>120. && SHORT TERM...GREIF/JP LONG TERM....AR AVIATION...JP
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 340 AM EST WED FEB 9 2011 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-104-106-108-101145- FLEMING-MONTGOMERY-BATH-ROWAN-ESTILL-POWELL-MENIFEE-ELLIOTT-MORGAN- WOLFE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FLEMINGSBURG...MOUNT STERLING... OWINGSVILLE...MOREHEAD...IRVINE...STANTON...FRENCHBURG... SANDY HOOK...WEST LIBERTY...CAMPTON 340 AM EST WED FEB 9 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A WEATHER SYSTEM PASSING BY TO THE SOUTH WILL BRING LIGHT SNOW TO NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. UP TO AN INCH OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE FROM THIS BY THURSDAY MORNING. AS A RESULT...THERE COULD BE TIMES WHEN THE ROADS ARE SLICK...ESPECIALLY THIS EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SNOW ACCUMULATION TOTALS LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. KYZ068-069-079-080-083>088-107-109>120-101145- ROCKCASTLE-JACKSON-PULASKI-LAUREL-WAYNE-MCCREARY-WHITLEY-KNOX-BELL- HARLAN-JOHNSON-MAGOFFIN-FLOYD-LEE-BREATHITT-KNOTT-OWSLEY-PERRY-CLAY- LESLIE-LETCHER-MARTIN-PIKE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MOUNT VERNON...MCKEE...SOMERSET...LONDON... MONTICELLO...WHITLEY CITY...CORBIN...WILLIAMSBURG...BARBOURVILLE... MIDDLESBORO...PINEVILLE...HARLAN...PAINTSVILLE...SALYERSVILLE... PRESTONSBURG...BEATTYVILLE...JACKSON...HINDMAN...BOONEVILLE... HAZARD...MANCHESTER...HYDEN...WHITESBURG...INEZ...PIKEVILLE 340 AM EST WED FEB 9 2011 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 7 AM EST THURSDAY... .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. A WEATHER SYSTEM PASSING BY TO THE SOUTH WILL BRING ACCUMULATING SNOW TO SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE AREA LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. BETWEEN ONE AND THREE INCHES OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED FROM THIS BY THURSDAY MORNING. AS A RESULT...TRAVEL IS EXPECTED TO BECOME HAZARDOUS...ESPECIALLY DURING THE EVENING HOURS WHEN THE SNOW COULD COME DOWN PARTICULARLY HEAVY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT ANY SNOW ACCUMULATION TOTALS LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. GREIF
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
58 winter weather, 2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
An inch and a half of snow had fallen 2 miles east southeast of Talbert.
Two inches of snow fell at the National Weather Service office in Jackson.
An inch of snow had fallen 5 miles east of Burnside since 2 pm.
Two and a quarter inches of snow fell 3 miles northeast of Monticello. The total snow depth was 3.25 inches.
Three inches of new snow fell in Bimble between 2 and 525 pm.
Two inches of snow fell in Corbin between 2 and 530 pm.
An inch of snow fell in Stanton.
I-26 between Williamsburg and Corbin were closed between 5 and 6pm due to numerous accidents caused by slick roads.
Eight tenths of an inch of snow fell 2 miles east northeast of Viper, causing area roads to become slick and hazardous.
Several accidents were caused county wide by slick roads. A half an inch of snow fell in Paintsville.
Two and three tenths of an inch of snow fell in Bush.
Two and a half inches of snow fell in Keavy.
Two inches of snow had fallen 5 miles east of Burnside between 2 and 625 pm.
An inch and a half of snow had fallen in Salyersville.
One and four tenths of an inch of snow fell at the Jackson weather office.
An inch of snow fell 2 miles southeast of Talbert.
An inch of snow had fallen in Jackson. The roads were snow covered and it was still snowing at the time the report was called in.
Roads in Irvine were snow covered and slick.
Three inches of snow had fallen in Mousie.
Two and a half inches of snow fell in Hallie between 230 and 615 pm.
Two inches of snow fell in Loyall.
A half an inch of snow fell in Harlan.
An inch of snow fell in Thornton between 330 and 545 pm. Most of the snow fell during a 45 minute period beginning at 5 pm.
Two inches of snow fell in Thornton between 340 and 7pm.
Two inches of new snow had fallen in Turkey Creek during the previous 12 hours. The total snow depth was 2.2 inches.
Three and a half inches of snow had fallen in Thornton.
Three inches of snow had fallen 7 miles south of Pikeville.
The snow accumulated 3 inches.
The snow accumulated 4 inches between 3 pm on the 9th and 3 am on the 10th.
The snow accumulated 2 inches.
The snow accumulated 3.5 inches.
The snow accumulated 2.2 inches.
The snow accumulated 2 inches.
The snow accumulated 2 inches.
The snow accumulated 3 inches.
The snow accumulated 4.8 inches.
The snow accumulated 1.3 inches.
The snow accumulated 1 inch.
The snow accumulated 1 inch.
The snow accumulated 0.8 inches. The roads are slick and hazardous.
The snow accumulated 1 inch.
The snow accumulated 1 inch.
The snow accumulated 3.5 inches in Hallie.
The snow accumulated 3 inches.
The snow accumulated 2.5 inches.
The snow accumulated 1.5 inches.
The snow accumulated 1 inch.
The snow accumulated 3.5 inches.
The snow accumulated 4 inches.
The snow accumulated 2 inches.
The snow accumulated 1.5 inches.
The snow accumulated 1 inch.
The snow accumulated 3 inches.
The snow accumulated 3 inches.
The snow accumulated 2.5 inches.
The snow accumulated 2 inches.
The snow accumulated 2 inches.
An inch and a half of snow had fallen 4 miles east of Frenchburg. The storm total snow fall was 2 inches.
Two inches of snow fell 1 mile south southeast of Ned.
Two inches of snow fell in Inez.
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: 272999, 273001, 275912, 275913, 275914, 275915, 275917, 275918, 275921, 275930, 275932, 275935, 275936, 275937, 275939, 275940, 275941, 275942, 275943, 275923, 275919, 275920, 275916, 275938, 275945, 275944, 275946, 272966, 272967, 272968, 272969, 272970, 272971, 272972, 272973, 272974, 272978, 272979, 272980, 272981, and more.