Winter Weather in Marshall, Kentucky

Widespread sleet and freezing rain occurred during the evening of the 23rd, followed by some patchy freezing drizzle or light rain overnight. A heavier round of precipitation on the 24th had little if any impact due to temperatures inching just above freezing. Sleet accumulations were under one-half inch, and ice accumulations were mainly one-tenth inch or less. The wintry precipitation on the evening of the 23rd caused hazardous travel during the evening commute. A rash of accidents was reported during the evening. Shortly before midnight, a fatal multi-vehicle crash blocked all lanes of Interstate 24 on the Tennessee River bridge at the Marshall-Livingston County line.

The crash site involved a total of eleven vehicles, including eight semi trucks. There were also some secondary crashes in this area. One fatality was reported, a one-year-old female toddler who was ejected from a truck (indirect). There were several injuries in the wrecks. During the early morning hours on the 24th, a multi-vehicle crash blocked all lanes of the Western Kentucky Parkway at the Green River bridge between Muhlenberg and Ohio Counties. About a dozen vehicles were involved, including four semi trucks. Both the eastbound and westbound lanes were blocked at the crash site. The wintry precipitation was caused by a moist southwest flow aloft, associated with a 500 mb trough over the western Plains. At the same time, surface high pressure advancing from the northern Plains produced a cold northerly surface wind. The cold low levels enabled the precipitation to stay freezing rain and sleet.