Kentucky, 2026

Extreme Cold and Cold in Kentucky, January 25 to 27, 2026

January 25 to 27, 2026 · NWS PAH · 22 events in 22 counties and zones

A cold air mass with sub-freezing temperatures that originated from Siberia was reinforced by a major winter storm that brought a snowpack across portions of western Kentucky on the 25th. Breezy west to northwest winds with occasional gusts around 20 mph caused dangerous intervals of wind chills between -10 to locally -18 in Union and Henderson County, KY on the 26th.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
22

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 cold air mass with sub-freezing temperatures that originated from Siberia was reinforced by a major winter storm that brought a snowpack across portions of western Kentucky on the 25th. Breezy west to northwest winds with occasional gusts around 20 mph caused dangerous intervals of wind chills between -10 to locally -18 in Union and Henderson County, KY on the 26th. Far southeast portions of the Kentucky Pennyrile only experienced advisory criteria with wind chills around -8. Meanwhile, wind chills across portions of the Kentucky Purchase continued to remain below advisory criteria of 0 since the night of the 23rd. Dangerous wind chills eventually came to an end during the morning hours of the 27th. The one exception was in Carlisle, Ballard, and McCracken County, KY where wind chills warmed above -5 during the late morning hours of the 26th due to calmer winds.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 extreme cold/wind chill, 10 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Henderson

When
January 25, 10:00 PM CST to January 27, 6:00 AM CST
Where
Henderson forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.796, -87.573 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Union

When
January 25, 11:00 PM CST to January 27, 5:00 AM CST
Where
Union forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.659, -87.945 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Daviess

When
January 25, 11:00 PM CST to January 27, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Daviess forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.732, -87.087 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Webster

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Webster forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.518, -87.683 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, McLean

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where
McLean forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.529, -87.264 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Hickman

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Hickman forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.678, -88.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Fulton

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Fulton forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.554, -89.188 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Graves

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Graves forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.723, -88.651 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Marshall

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Marshall forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.884, -88.329 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Calloway

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Calloway forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.621, -88.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lyon

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Lyon forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.019, -88.083 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Caldwell

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Caldwell forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.145, -87.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Hopkins

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Hopkins forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.309, -87.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Trigg

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 8:00 AM CST
Where
Trigg forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.806, -87.873 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Christian

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Christian forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
36.894, -87.490 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Todd

When
January 26, 12:00 AM CST to January 27, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Todd forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
36.836, -87.179 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Livingston

When
January 26, 4:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Livingston forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.210, -88.354 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Crittenden

When
January 26, 4:00 AM CST to January 27, 4:00 AM CST
Where
Crittenden forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.353, -88.097 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Ballard

When
January 26, 4:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Ballard forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.058, -88.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, McCracken

When
January 26, 4:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
McCracken forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
37.054, -88.713 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Carlisle

When
January 26, 4:00 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST
Where
Carlisle forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
36.853, -88.971 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Cold/Wind Chill, Muhlenberg

When
January 26, 5:00 AM CST to January 27, 7:00 AM CST
Where
Muhlenberg forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
37.216, -87.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
Cold/Wind Chill
Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Kentucky in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Kentucky, January 2026

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: 1307907, 1307906, 1307908, 1307916, 1307918, 1307933, 1307934, 1307936, 1307937, 1307938, 1307941, 1307943, 1307944, 1307947, 1307948, 1307949, 1307913, 1307914, 1307921, 1307923, 1307925, 1307946.