Ice Storm and Flood in Kentucky, January 5 to 6, 2025

Name: Ice Storm and Flood in Kentucky, January 5 to 6, 2025
Start: 2025-01-05T04:00
End: 2025-01-06T09:00
Location: Kentucky

January 5 to 6, 2025 · NWS PAH · 23 events in 22 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 22 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: $1.7 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 23

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 PAH wrote it up.

A winter storm, with locally major impacts, affected western Kentucky on the 5th with a mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain. A brief wintry mix that fell primarily as freezing rain quickly transitioned to plain rain later that morning and afternoon across much of the region. Peak accumulations ranged from a trace to a half inch of snow and sleet along with a glaze of ice. Further north along and north of Interstate 69, more snow and sleet had occurred on the onset before transitioning to a prolonged period of freezing rain and eventually plain rain. Wrap around moisture caused one final burst of snow into the morning hours on the 6th after a lull that evening with patchy freezing drizzle. This is where the thickest glaze of ice between a quarter to three quarters of an inch and a half to 2 inches of snow and sleet had accumulated that led to widespread treacherous travel conditions, traffic accidents and major power outages. Two large trees and a power pole were downed near Princeton in Caldwell County, KY. A large tree fell on a home on the south side of Morganfield in Union County, KY. Trees were seen leaned over and broken across Sharpe in Marshall County, KY and Greenville in Muhlenberg County, KY. Further west, numerous large tree limbs were down near Oscar in Ballard County while power lines fell down on trees on Clinton Road near Lone Oak in McCracken County, KY. Multiple trees were mangled near Marion in Crittenden County, KY that experienced some of the greatest impacts. Over 100,000 residents across the entire tri-state region were without power during its peak that night into the following morning, with over 7000 outages in Henderson County, 3600 outages in Union County and 1900 outages in Lyon County, KY. Temperatures near freezing warmed across most of the region later that morning into the afternoon, but a shallow cold layer near 1000 ft above ground level made the ice reluctant to melt off the tree branches. The heavy weight on trees led to additional power outages during the day on the 6th due to wind gusts over 20 mph. Wet surfaces the prior night also resulted in a flash freeze as temperatures quickly plummeted back below freezing into the 20s. Key Impacts: transportation delays, traffic accidents, power outages.

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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 5, 3:49 AM CST, 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 5, 3:49 AM CST, 11 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 4, 4:11 AM CST, 23 hours 49 minutes before

Hazardous Weather Outlook
National Weather Service Paducah KY
411 AM CST Sat Jan 4 2025

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-051015-
Jefferson-Wayne IL-Edwards-Wabash-Perry IL-Franklin-Hamilton-
White-Jackson-Williamson-Saline-Gallatin-Union-Johnson-Pope-
Hardin-Alexander-Pulaski-Massac-Gibson-Pike-Posey-Vanderburgh-
Warrick-Spencer-Fulton-Hickman-Carlisle-Ballard-McCracken-Graves-
Livingston-Marshall-Calloway-Crittenden-Lyon-Trigg-Caldwell-
Union KY-Webster-Hopkins-Christian-Henderson-Daviess-McLean-
Muhlenberg-Todd-Perry MO-Bollinger-Cape Girardeau-Wayne MO-Carter-
Ripley-Butler-Stoddard-Scott-Mississippi-New Madrid-
411 AM CST Sat Jan 4 2025 /511 AM EST Sat Jan 4 2025/

This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of southern
Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, and southeast
Missouri.

.DAY ONE...Today and Tonight

No hazardous weather is expected at this time.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday

An Ice Storm Warning, Winter Storm Warning and Winter Weather
Advisory have been issued across the region. Significant
accumulations of freezing rain, sleet, and snow are expected
beginning early Sunday morning. Travel will likely become
hazardous and power outages will be possible. Farther south, some
brief travel difficulties will be possible at the onset of the
precipitation until temperatures climb above freezing Sunday
morning. Refer to each product for more details.

An extended period of sub-freezing conditions is expected from
Monday through at least Thursday. The coldest conditions are
expected Tuesday night and Wednesday night, when wind chill values
will range from the single digits below zero in the north to the
single digits above zero in the south.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

Spotter activation is not anticipated.

DW

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 winter weather, 11 ice storm, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Ballard

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Ballard forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.058, -88.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, McCracken

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where: McCracken forecast zone
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.054, -88.713 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Marshall

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 36.884, -88.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Trigg

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 10:00 AM CST
Where: Trigg forecast zone
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 36.806, -87.873 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Christian

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Christian forecast zone
Property damage: $140,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 36.894, -87.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Todd

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where: Todd forecast zone
Property damage: $60,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 36.836, -87.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Carlisle

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Carlisle forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 36.853, -88.971 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Hickman

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Hickman forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 36.678, -88.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Fulton

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 7:00 AM CST
Where: Fulton forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 36.554, -89.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Graves

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 8:00 AM CST
Where: Graves forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 36.723, -88.651 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Calloway

When: January 5, 4:00 AM CST to 9:00 AM CST
Where: Calloway forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 36.621, -88.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Union

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to January 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Union forecast zone
Property damage: $80,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 37.659, -87.945 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Henderson

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to January 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Henderson forecast zone
Property damage: $350,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 37.796, -87.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Daviess

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to January 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Daviess forecast zone
Property damage: $350,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 37.732, -87.087 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Livingston

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to January 6, 8:00 AM CST
Where: Livingston forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.210, -88.354 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Crittenden

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to January 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Crittenden forecast zone
Property damage: $90,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.353, -88.097 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Webster

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to January 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Webster forecast zone
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.518, -87.683 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, McLean

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to January 6, 9:00 AM CST
Where: McLean forecast zone
Property damage: $20,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.529, -87.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Hopkins

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Hopkins forecast zone
Property damage: $85,000
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.309, -87.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Muhlenberg

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Muhlenberg forecast zone
Property damage: $125,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 37.216, -87.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Lyon

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 2:00 PM CST
Where: Lyon forecast zone
Property damage: $70,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 37.019, -88.083 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Caldwell

When: January 5, 5:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where: Caldwell forecast zone
Property damage: $60,000
Reported by: Broadcast Media
Coordinates: 37.145, -87.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Ballard

When: January 5, 2:00 PM CST to 3:30 PM CST
Where: Ballard County, 0.85 mi E of La Center to 1.55 mi ESE of La Center
Cause: Heavy Rain
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 37.071, -88.965

Ponding of water occurred on some roadways in Ballard County, including Hinkleville Rd.

What these are

Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.
Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Kentucky in 2025 Every state in 2025 This day in weather history Warnings in Kentucky, January 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: 1225092, 1225093, 1225094, 1225097, 1225098, 1225099, 1225101, 1225102, 1225103, 1225104, 1225105, 1225081, 1225082, 1225083, 1225084, 1225085, 1225087, 1225088, 1225089, 1225090, 1225095, 1225096, 1229437.