Seasonably cold temperatures, in the mid to upper 20s, occurred early on Christmas morning. Light winds made for wind chill values also in the mid to upper 20s.
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.
Seasonably cold temperatures, in the mid to upper 20s, occurred early on Christmas morning. Light winds made for wind chill values also in the mid to upper 20s. This cold weather was responsible for causing a woman to die as she was exposed to these temperatures early in the morning.
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 24, 4:25 PM EST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION National Weather Service Jackson KY 425 PM EST Mon Dec 24 2018 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Tuesday night) Issued at 357 PM EST MON DEC 24 2018 Temperatures have warmed into the mid 40s this afternoon underneath sunny skies. Cirrus will be on the increase this evening and tonight ahead of a shortwave trough moving across the central Plains into the Missouri Valley. Lowering clouds through the night will bring the chance of some flurries after midnight through Tuesday morning as this wave pushes through Kentucky. Soundings continue to indicate a good deal of dry air below 6,000-7,000 feet as surface ridging holds strong across the central Appalachians and eastern Ohio Valley, negating any appreciable threat of measurable precipitation. Omega profiles do show some decent lift above the boundary layer, so can't rule out a few flakes and/or sprinkles through Tuesday morning. Have opted to keep fog out of the forecast for tonight at this time given the increasing/lowering cloud cover. Heights will rise behind the wave Tuesday afternoon and evening as negatively-tilted upper ridging builds from the Gulf Coast into the Canadian Prairies. This will keep dry conditions in the offing through Wednesday morning as light downslope flow and warmer air, attempting to ooze in from the southwest, promote slightly warmer overnight low temperatures for much of eastern Kentucky. .LONG TERM...(Wednesday through Monday) Issued at 425 PM EST MON DEC 24 2018 The models are in good agreement aloft to start the extended portion of the forecast with greater spread heading into next weekend. They all depict a deep southern stream trough moving through the Four Corner's region with downstream ridging over Kentucky Wednesday. This ridge builds briefly into Thursday morning as the western trough lifts into the High Plains. The CMC is strongest with this trough while the GFS weakest, though the eastern ridge is similar among the models. Southwest flow over Kentucky will bring in energy from the trough for eastern Kentucky on Thursday proper while higher heights hold for a time before breaking down into Friday morning in response to the now opening trough lifting into the western Great Lakes. At this point, the pattern tilts enough that the bulk of any energy stays north of the Ohio River while the newly established southwestern trough maintains the broad southwest flow for our area. The pattern becomes quite muddled through the weekend with the models out of step with each other. The GFS would have troughing settle into the the Ohio Valley on Sunday into Monday while the ECMWF maintains ridging - so confidence is low in any mode specifics for this time period. Given that have favored a general model blend with some adjustments away from any of the more outlier solutions. Sensible weather will feature a dry and mild start to the extended with south winds propping up the temperatures ahead of the sfc low to the west. Thursday will be a warm one even as rain moves into the area associated with a cold front slowly starting to push into the state. Some thunder will be possible with the showers along this boundary as it moves into eastern Kentucky that night and early Friday morning. The colder air behind the front doesn't have much of a push, though, and will likely only bring a glancing shot to the area later Friday night and Saturday. Moderately cool high pressure then passes through the region ahead of the next potential for pcpn coming north out of the lower Mississippi Valley for the latter part of the weekend and into Monday. Again confidence is low for any model specifics at these time steps due to the lack of agreement, but there does appear to be the potential for some snow for parts of the area heading into Monday, as well. For temperatures in the extended: did not deviate far from the SuperBlend except to add in more of a ridge to valley component most nights. As for PoPs, the main adjustments where to limit the return of PoPs into the area from the blend later in the weekend. && .AVIATION...(For the 18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday afternoon) ISSUED AT 1249 PM EST MON DEC 24 2018 VFR conditions will largely prevail through 18Z Tuesday. The only hindrance to this would be any fog that develops tonight into Christmas morning, more likely in valleys beneath terminals. An increase in mid and high level clouds will occur tonight as an upper level disturbance pushes east toward the Ohio Valley, but ceilings will remain well above MVFR criteria. Winds will average around 5 knots or less through the period as they back from southwesterly this afternoon to south/southeasterly tonight. && .JKL WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SHORT TERM...GUSEMAN LONG TERM...GREIF AVIATION...GUSEMAN
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Jackson KY 400 PM EST Mon Dec 24 2018 KYZ044-050>052-058>060-068-069-079-080-083>088-104-106>120-260000- 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, Camargo, Jeffersonville, Mount Sterling, Owingsville, Morehead, Irvine, Ravenna, Clay City, Stanton, Frenchburg, Brodhead, Mount Vernon, McKee, Annville, Burnside, Somerset, London, Monticello, Stearns, Whitley City, Corbin, Williamsburg, Barbourville, Middlesboro, Pineville, Cumberland, Harlan, Sandy Hook, West Liberty, Paintsville, Campton, Salyersville, Prestonsburg, Wheelwright, Beattyville, Jackson, Hindman, Pippa Passes, Booneville, Hazard, Manchester, Hyden, Jenkins, Whitesburg, Inez, Coal Run, Elkhorn City, Pikeville, and South Williamson 400 PM EST Mon Dec 24 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of eastern Kentucky. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Portions of the Kentucky River will run high through tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. Thunderstorms will be possible Thursday night through Friday morning. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated. GUSEMAN/GREIF
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
A local media outlet reported that a woman died while being exposed to cold weather early this morning.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold/Wind Chill, Laurel | 2018-12-25 | 74 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Kentucky in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, December 2018
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: 790714.