Kentucky, 2025

Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Kentucky, February 18 to 20, 2025

February 18 to 20, 2025 · NWS RLX · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Snow showers began to sweep into northeastern Kentucky on the late evening of February 18th as a low pressure system skirted from the Arklatex region into the lower Tennessee Valley. Periods of moderate snow then progressed through the area for the next 24 to 36 hours before coming to an by the early afternoon of February 20th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS RLX wrote it up.

Snow showers began to sweep into northeastern Kentucky on the late evening of February 18th as a low pressure system skirted from the Arklatex region into the lower Tennessee Valley. Periods of moderate snow then progressed through the area for the next 24 to 36 hours before coming to an by the early afternoon of February 20th. From this event, local cooperative observers and Department of Highways workers measured between 2 to 4 inches of snow had fallen across northeast Kentucky.

What forecasters said that day

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 Charleston, WV wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 18, 10:00 PM EST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 18, 10:00 PM EST, 0 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 18, 10:19 AM EST, 11 hours 41 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 winter weather, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Boyd

When
February 18, 10:00 PM EST to February 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where
Boyd forecast zone
Reported by
Department of Highways
Coordinates
38.360, -82.688 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Carter

When
February 18, 10:00 PM EST to February 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where
Carter forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
38.318, -83.049 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Greenup

When
February 18, 10:00 PM EST to February 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where
Greenup forecast zone
Reported by
Department of Highways
Coordinates
38.546, -82.922 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Lawrence

When
February 18, 10:00 PM EST to February 20, 1:00 PM EST
Where
Lawrence forecast zone
Reported by
Department of Highways
Coordinates
38.068, -82.735 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Kentucky in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, February 2025

Sources

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1231197, 1231198, 1231200, 1231203.