Light snow showers that occurred along and north of the I64 corridor on December 16th created slick roads that lead to numerous car accidents in the area. Even though only two tenths of an inch of snow fell, it fell fast enough to accumulate on roadways and create very hazardous driving conditions in Rowan county.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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.
Light snow showers that occurred along and north of the I64 corridor on December 16th created slick roads that lead to numerous car accidents in the area. Even though only two tenths of an inch of snow fell, it fell fast enough to accumulate on roadways and create very hazardous driving conditions in Rowan county.
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 16, 3:56 AM EST, 34 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 356 AM EST MON DEC 16 2013 .SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY) ISSUED AT 357 AM EST MON DEC 16 2013 CURRENT CONDITIONS ACROSS EASTERN KENTUCKY FEATURE A WEAK SHORT WAVE DESCENDING SOUTHEAST INTO THE AREA IN CONTINUED WEST TO WEST NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT. IT SEEMS THAT JUST ENOUGH MOISTURE AND LIFT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR A POSSIBLE DUSTING OF NORTH ALONG THE NORTHERN COUNTIES. THIS WILL OCCUR OVER A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS AS THIS QUICK CLIPPER LIKE SYSTEM PASSES THROUGH THE AREA. ANY PRECIP WILL END BY 15Z TO 16Z AS THE SYSTEM EXITS EASTERN KENTUCKY. OVER THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES THROUGH THE MORNING...HARDLY ANY MOISTURE MAKES IT DOWN TO THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY AND WILL KEEP LOCATIONS THIS FAR SOUTH DRY WITH FLURRIES POSSIBLE FROM THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY NORTH TO THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY. ANY MEASURABLE PRECIP WILL BE NORTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY AND GONE WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE JUST NORTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY AND UP TO A GOOD CHANCE IN FLEMING COUNTY WHERE A DUSTING IS POSSIBLE. HEADING INTO THE DAYTIME HOURS...THE LINGERING 500MB TROUGH OVER THE UPPER GREAT LAKES REGION WILL SLIDE SLIGHTLY EAST BUT STILL KEEP EASTERN KENTUCKY IN WESTWARD FLOW ALOFT AND ALSO KEEPING THE CONTINUED CLOUD COVER OVER THE OHIO VALLEY AND MOST OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. GENERALLY...THIS WOULD KEEP OUR SURFACE TEMPS FROM WARMING UP FROM A CHILLY MORNING LOW...HOWEVER...INCREASED GRADIENT AS THE MID LEVEL RIDGE OUT WEST TRIES TO BUILD EASTWARD...WILL BRING SOUTHWEST STIFF WINDS INTO EASTERN KENTUCKY. THIS WILL ADVECT SOME WARMER AIR INTO THE AREA AS HIGHS WILL TOP OUT INTO THE 40S IN THE SOUTH AND BRING TEMPS OVER THE NORTH AT LEAST INTO THE MID 30S. BY TONIGHT...THE NEXT WAVE DIVES SOUTHEAST INTO THE AREA BUT WILL STAY FAR ENOUGH NORTH THAT ONLY FLEMING COUNTY MAY HAVE MEASURABLE RAINFALL AND AT THIS POINT...THAT IS A STRETCH. PROFILES OVER THE AREA HAS QUITE A SHALLOW LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND EVEN A DRIZZLE TYPE SITUATION WILL BE TOUGH TO MATERIALIZE. HAVE KEPT ANY MENTION OF DRIZZLE ALONG AND NORTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY AND RAIN NORTH OF I-64. TEMPS OVER THE NORTH TONIGHT WILL REMAIN WARMER WITH A POSSIBLE FLAKE OR TWO MIXING IN FLEMING COUNTY AS WELL. WITH CONTINUED PROGRESSIVE FLOW ALOFT...THIS EVENT WILL ALSO BE SHORT IN DURATION BEGINNING BY 03Z TONIGHT AND ENDING BY 12Z TUESDAY MORNING. BY TUESDAY...ANOTHER WAVE WILL PASS NORTH OF THE AREA BUT KEEPING WITH THE MODEL TREND AND STAYING NORTH OF THE AREA. CLOUD COVER WILL REMAIN OVER THE NORTH BUT WILL BE FREE OF ANY PRECIP. CONTINUED INCREASED SOUTHWEST FLOW AT THE SURFACE WILL BRING TEMPS UP INTO THE UPPER 40S AND LOWER 50S FOR TUESDAY AFTERNOON. .LONG TERM...(TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY) ISSUED AT 357 AM EST MON DEC 16 2013 THE EXTENDED FORECAST DISCUSSION WILL BE ISSUED SHORTLY. && .AVIATION...(FOR THE 06Z TAFS THROUGH 06Z MONDAY NIGHT) ISSUED AT 124 AM EST MON DEC 16 2013 EXPECT MVFR CEILINGS TO REMAIN IN PLACE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT. A PASSING UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL BRING SOME FLURRIES/LIGHT SNOW TO SOME LOCATIONS BETWEEN 08 AND 12Z...MAINLY NORTH OF THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY AND HIGHWAY 80 CORRIDORS. THE BETTER CHANCE OF SEEING SOME TEMPORARY IFR CEILINGS/VISBYS FROM THIS ACTIVITY WILL BE NORTH OF I-64 BETWEEN 09 AND 12Z. CLOUDS WILL BEGIN TO LIFT TO VFR FROM THE SOUTH LATE MONDAY MORNING...AND THEN SLOWLY WORK TO THE NORTH IN THE AFTERNOON. WSW WINDS OF 5 TO 10 KTS WILL BACK MORE TO THE SOUTHWEST THROUGH THE NIGHT AND LIGHTEN TO AROUND 5 KTS OR LESS. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...SHALLENBERGER LONG TERM...JP AVIATION...SHALLENBERGER
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JACKSON KY 803 PM EST SUN DEC 15 2013 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-161200- 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 803 PM EST SUN DEC 15 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN KENTUCKY. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. SNOW IS POSSIBLE TONIGHT...MAINLY ALONG AND NORTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY. LITTLE OR NO SNOW ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW NORTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY MONDAY MORNING. SOME FREEZING DRIZZLE IS POSSIBLE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING...MAINLY IN THE BLUEGRASS AND NORTH OF THE MOUNTAIN PARKWAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. JMW/GEOGERIAN
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
The Rowan county emergency manager reported that I64 was closed at mile marker 135 due to slick roads and several accidents that were caused by icy conditions.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, December 2013
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: 484535.